MOthers deserve
control of their bodies
during labor and delivery.
MIstreatment during maternity care must be stopped.
You deserve to be heard.
You are not alone. Connect with others who have experienced mistreatment during maternity care.
⦁
You are not alone. Connect with others who have experienced mistreatment during maternity care. ⦁
why we exist
Everyone should have the right to be heard and respected, especially in the hospital.
However, when it comes to maternity care, mothers often go through labor and delivery of their child facing fear, coercion or even forced interventions, even though there is no emergency or medical indication.
“They promised low to no intervention labor and natural delivery during prenatal care but once I was at the hospital all they had to offer was intervention after intervention even though there was no issue.”
“They artificially broke my water without my consent.”
“I was put into a birthing position that made me feel highly uncomfortable and I asked them multiple times to allow me to change my position but they didn’t care.”
“I said no and was ignored.”
1 in 5 mothers in the United States report mistreatment while receiving maternity care.
This is not just a statistic. It is trauma, lost trust, and lives changed by preventable harm.
Because mothers, like everyone else, deserve dignity, safety, and equitable access to respectful care.
Every normal, low-risk childbirth should be safe for baby and mother.
However, while affected mothers often deal with life-altering physical and psychological injuries they have acquired from maternity care mistreatment, they often suffer in silence, often for many years, if not lifelong, because the systems that should protect, inform, and provide respectful care often use all their power to instead justify their actions, shift the blame, obscure accountability and normalize the harm.
Even today.
For the vast majority of affected mothers, there is no recourse and no one to hold accountable.
We believe that maternity care mistreatment must be stopped, and that affected mothers must have specific legal avenues to seek restitution, ensure accountability, and prevent future violations.
One in Five must become Zero in California
What is
maternity care
mistreatment?
The most common types of maternity care mistreatment include
Being threatened with withholding treatment, or
made to accept unwanted treatment; forced interventions.
Receiving no response to requests for help or questions.
Being shouted at or scolded.
Not having physical privacy protected.
1 in 3 mothers in the United States report birth trauma from their childbirth experience.
Birth trauma can lead to a range of maternal mental health conditions, including physical, emotional and psychological injuries such as postpartum-PTSD.
800,000 families each year in the United States are affected by poor maternal mental health as the most common complication of maternity care.
What are
forced interventions
in maternity care?
Forced interventions during labor and childbirth are medical actions taken without a pregnant’s informed, voluntary consent. They can range from coercive persuasion to physical restraint or procedures performed despite clear refusal.
These practices violate bodily autonomy and can cause physical harm as well as psychological harm, such as postpartum-PTSD.
Common forced interventions are:
Unconsented induction of labor (oxytocin, membrane stripping) after pressure or false urgency.
Unconsented or coerced c-section or other instrumental delivery procedures, often through intimidation or presenting it as the only option even though there is no emergency and no medical indication.
Artificial rupture of membranes (amniotomy) performed without agreement.
Episiotomy without informed consent.
Forced internal examinations or excessive or repeated exams after a refusal.
Use of physical restraints to perform procedures or prevent movement.
Refusal to honor birth plans or advance directives, including requests for bodily autonomy or a preferred birthing position.
Withholding pain relief unless certain actions are taken (e.g., consenting to an intervention).
what is informed
consent?
Informed consent requires
disclosure of risks, benefits, and all alternatives;
the opportunity to ask questions;
comprehension;
voluntary agreement without coercion; and
respect of the right to refuse or withdraw consent at any time, even during labor and delivery.
Emergency exceptions apply only if a patient is not able to consent to an immediate intervention to prevent serious harm, but even then, clinicians must act in the least restrictive way possible and document rationale.
physical
consequences of
forced interventions
Forced interventions are harmful and can have severe, if not lifelong physical consequences.
Forced c-sections and forced instrumental delivery procedures are not without medical risks and can cause severe physical injuries to mother and baby.
Physical risks of forced interventions include infections, hemorrhage, nerve damage, surgical complications, longer recovery.
psychological
consequences of
forced interventions
Forced interventions can also have severe, if not lifelong psychological consequences.
Psychological harms include postpartum-PTSD, depression, anxiety, distrust of healthcare.
Disruption of bonding and breastfeeding.
Increased maternal morbidity and mortality, particularly when interventions are unnecessary or done without proper indication and consent.
Each year, an estimated 100,000 mothers in the United States develop postpartum-PTSD as a direct result of maternity care mistreatment.
what must change
Maternity justice for California advocates for the establishment of
enforceable rights to stop maternity care mistreatment
enforceable patient rights and informed consent standards
mandatory data collection and public reporting of maternity care mistreatment statistics
legal remedies for survivors of maternity care mistreatment
Pregnant and postpartum mothers
need
enforceable rights,
accountability,
safety and dignity.
what we can do immediately
Did you feel unheard?
Did you experience a loss of control?
Were you forced to procedures?
There are many others out there suffering in silence from similar experiences thinking they’re alone. But this is not true. You are not alone. You are not to blame. You deserve to be heard.
We offer online meetings for anyone postpartum who has experienced mistreatment (mental and/or physical) during labor and delivery caused by healthcare providers. It is a space specifically focused on connecting with others who have experienced mistreatment during maternity care caused by the behavior or actions of healthcare providers, so you can know that you are not alone and are not to blame. You deserve to be heard.
Click here for more information on how to connect with other survivors.
You can also reach out to us and share your story here.