Birth is Not a Battleground
70% of birth trauma is known to be iatrogenic, that means that it is caused by the midwives and the doctors in their delivery of ‘care’. This must change, now.
— Jane Hardwick Collings
‘Dehumanised’, ‘violated’ and ‘powerless’ are certainly not words you would want to use to describe anyone’s birth experience. Yet a recent Australian study – the first of its kind to explore obstetric violence in this context – has shown that 1 in 10 women and birthing people report abusive or disrespectful care in childbirth.
The study explored the experiences of obstetric violence reported in a national survey in 2021 by Australian women* who had a baby in the previous 5 years. A content analysis of 626 open text comments found three main categories: "I felt dehumanised," "I felt violated," and "I felt powerless." Study participants reported bullying, coercion, non-empathic care, and physical and sexual assault. Disrespect and abuse and non-consented vaginal examinations were the subcategories with the most comments.
The experiences and the stories that this study reveals are devastating – and they are also important. How might this data inform real change? How might we shift towards maternity care that is grounded in humanity, autonomy and deep respect for birth and women / birthing people? And, how does it affect your own choices – as a parent or health care worker?
Understanding informed consent, knowing your birth rights, learning about birth and your birthing body are all essential elements of birth preparation – and, the onus of avoiding obstetric violence within childbirth should not lay on the shoulders on women and birthing people alone.
Knowing your birth rights, understanding informed consent, learning about birth and your birthing body, are all important aspects of birth preperation. But we shouldn’t need to wear them like armour when stepping into the birth space.
Birth is not a battleground.
We need legislation recognising obstetric violence as a human rights violation, we need real continuity of care, and we need health care providers and the systems they work within to be accountable. We also need other options for people wanting to give birth outside of the mainstream system - with access to independent birth centres, and Medicare funded / covered home births.
Read the full study here.
*This study surveyed the experiences of self-identifying women, however, the writer recognises that not all people who give birth identify this way - and that obstetric violence is experienced by and impacts many birthing people with varying identities.
09.12.2022
