Obstetric Violence Blog

BESt-UK is now open!

https://qualtrics.kcl.ac.uk/jfe/form/SV_03amiQqUhLXl18a?Q_CHL=qr

⭐Translated into 5 languages and open to everyone who has given birth in the UK in the past 5 years ⭐

⭐ We want to hear your experiences the good, bad or neutral ⭐

⭐ We’re part of a global movement, starting in Australia with Hazel Keedle’s team who co-produced the original survey, we have spent the last 7 months working with maternity consumer groups, third sector organisations and service users with diverse lived experiences to adapt it to the UK context ⭐

⭐ Please share far and wide⭐

⭐We'll be sharing insights about the study all week including an InstaLive tomorrow on Make Birth Better with Claire Feeley and Hazel Keedle

‘This Deliberate and Systematic Practice’: How Doctors’ Religious Beliefs Impelled Ireland’s Forced Symphysiotomies

Marie O’Connor traces the religious motives for systemic reliance on symphysiotomy procedures in Ireland, highlighting serious human rights violations and exposing flawed and unfounded arguments by the government to avoid accountability.

https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/ethics-law-life-sciences/about-us/news/obstetric-violence-blog/how-doctors-religious-beliefs-impelled-irelands-forced-symphysiotomies/

'Same Story, Different Country – The Experiences of Muslim Women in Irish Maternity Hospitals'

In this post, Amal Women’s Association share some of the findings from their investigation into Muslim women’s experiences of maternity care in Ireland. The report, ‘A Mother is Born Too’ exposes concerning manifestations of obstetric violence and racism, particularly towards migrant Hijab wearing women.

https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/ethics-law-life-sciences/about-us/news/obstetric-violence-blog/experiences-of-muslim-women-in-irish-maternity-hospitals/

Recording of 'Obstetric Violence: A Multidisciplinary Analysis', 18 May 2023

The Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences and Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse co-hosted a multidisciplinary panel on obstetric violence on 18 May 2023, at Durham Law School. We are pleased to share the recording in this post.

https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/ethics-law-life-sciences/about-us/news/obstetric-violence-blog/obstetric-violence-panel/

Registration is open: https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/law/news-and-events/events/2023/may/cells-obstetric-violence-a-multidisciplinary-analysis/

event at Durham Law School, with Prof Sara Cohen Shabot, Dr Rachelle Chadwick, and Dr Nicole Daniels. Hosted by the Centre for Research into Violence and Abuse and the Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences... registration details to follow!

This will be a hybrid event,

'Tied2Beds: Spatial Hauntings in Obstetric Care'

Noting the importance of naming obstetric violence, Nicole Daniels and Veronica Mitchell foreground how material relations with/in the labour ward normalise institutional arrangements that manifest as violence. The authors focus on the power and implications of beds on the labour ward floor as a component of the materiality of violence in obstetric care.

https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/ethics-law-life-sciences/about-us/news/obstetric-violence-blog/tied2beds/

'The Iatrogenic Harm of Binary Gender in Perinatal Care: How Perinatal Systems Insistence on a Gender Binary Risks Babies Lives'

In this post on naming and framings of violations in maternity care, Mari Greenfield and Yuval Topper introduce a case study to draw attention to unseen violences that occur when trans people rely on NHS perinatal services that enforce s*x binaries and structure care according to cisgender and heteros*xual frameworks.

https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/ethics-law-life-sciences/about-us/news/obstetric-violence-blog/trans-men-and-obstetric-violence/

'Birth Trauma, Obstetric Violence, and the Human Cost of Caring'

Cristen Pascucci, Founder of Birth Monopoly and Director of ‘Mother May I’, reflects on the cost of caring in the context of obstetric violence and highlights pressing concerns about secondary traumatic stress. An essential read for those working on obstetric violence.

https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/ethics-law-life-sciences/about-us/news/obstetric-violence-blog/cost-of-caring/

'The Supreme Court of Israel allows the operation of natural birth centres outside hospitals'

Dganit Sommerfeld details the ground-breaking ruling delivered in Nashim Korot Laledet v State of Israel, a case that lifts the ban on ‘natural birth centres’ in Israel. This piece traces the progression of the case which ultimately recognised the importance of women’s ability to choose their own birthing experience. A promising milestone in the fight to address obstetric violence in Israel.

https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/institutes-and-centres/ethics-law-life-sciences/about-us/news/obstetric-violence-blog/birth-centres/