Brave Voices, Bold Actions: Women's Health, Rights & You

Too often, treating women with respect is seen as a luxury. It is not. Violations of human rights during childbirth are all too common in labor wards, hurting women’s chances of surviving pregnancy and childbirth. This episode of White Ribbon Alliance’s Brave Voices, Bold Actions podcast explores Article 1 of the Respectful Maternity Care Charter, and the human right to give birth free from harm and ill treatment – one component of the top request from the What Women Want campaign: respectful, dignified care.

We hear from Sabina Jankovičová, who bravely shares her birth story and the damage caused by the disrespectful treatment she received at the hands of her healthcare providers, and Kate Gilmore, former UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, who helps examine how violations of women’s rights in childbirth are part of the continuum of violence that women and girls experience throughout their lifetimes. Together, we have the power to destroy the structures that harm women during pregnancy and childbirth!
Learn more at www.whiteribbonalliance.org/bravevoicespodcast.

Too often, treating women with respect is seen as a luxury. It is not. Violations of human rights during childbirth are all too common in labor wards, hurting women’s chances of surviving pregnancy and childbirth.

This episode of White Ribbon Alliance’s Brave Voices, Bold Actions podcast explores Article 10 of the Respectful Maternity Care Charter, and the right to adequate nutrition & clean water.

We start with Jacqueline Mwase , who shares what it was like to give birth to a beautiful baby girl, Jacinta, in a health facility in Malawi that lacked access to clean water. Then we chat about the human right to clean water with Dr. Joanne McGriff, research professor at Emory University and senior administrator of Center for Global Safe WASH, where she is currently working on water, sanitation, and hygiene issues in healthcare facilities globally.

Together, we have the power to destroy the structures that harm women during pregnancy and childbirth!
Topics:

• What happens when the right to water and nutrition is denied?
• What is the state of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in health care facilities globally?
• What is the role of WASH in providing a respectful, dignified birth experience during childbirth?
• Why is it a fundamental human right to have access to adequate nutrition and clean water during and after childbirth?

Too often, treating women with respect is seen as a luxury. It is not. Violations of human rights during childbirth are all too common in labor wards, hurting women’s chances of surviving pregnancy and childbirth.

This episode of White Ribbon Alliance’s Brave Voices, Bold Actions podcast explores Article 8 of the Respectful Maternity Care Charter, and the human right every child has to be with their parents or guardians.

We start with the story of Sabina Jankovičová who suffered through a traumatic separation from her newborn and is now an advocate in Slovakia and beyond for keeping mothers and babies together after birth. Then we chat with the World Health Organization's Ornella Lincetto, a neonatologist and pediatrician expert in public health, about ensuring health facilities follow evidence-based procedures related to childbirth to help every mother and newborn survive and thrive during COVID-19 and beyond.

Together, we have the power to destroy the structures that harm women during pregnancy and childbirth!

Topics:

• How has COVID-19 impacted the way some health systems treat mothers and newborns?
• Why are babies separated from their parents in health facilities?
• What are the health benefits of keeping mothers and babies together after birth?
• Why is it a fundamental human right for newborns to be together with their mothers or other guardians?

Too often, treating women with respect is seen as a luxury. It is not. Violations of human rights during childbirth are all too common in labor wards, hurting women’s chances of surviving pregnancy and childbirth.

This episode of White Ribbon Alliance’s Brave Voices, Bold Actions podcast explores Article 6 of the Respectful Maternity Care Charter, and the human right to healthcare and to the highest attainable level of health.
We start with two very different experiences of birth, from Elvia Rosario Muñoz Martínez in Mexico and Helen Abdul from Nigeria. Then we talk with Birth Justice activist Naa Hammond, and Australian midwife and Birthing on Country advocate Cherisse Buzzacott, about what needs to be done to ensure every mother, everywhere, receives quality healthcare during pregnancy and childbirth.
Together, we have the power to destroy the structures that harm women during pregnancy and childbirth!

Topics Covered:

• What is Birth Justice, and what does it look like in practice?
• How can donors and governments ensure women’s voices are heard and their rights are protected during childbirth?
• What is Birthing on Country, and how is it helping Aboriginal mothers in Australia during pregnancy and childbirth?
• How can the Respectful Maternity Care Charter save the lives of women across the world?

Transcripts and more information available at www.whiteribbonalliance.org/bravevoicespodcast

Respectful care and a life free from abuse is due to every woman in every health system around the world – no matter what, even during the current COVID-19 crisis.
In this very special episode of White Ribbon Alliance's Brave Voices, Bold Actions podcast, we’re talking about the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on pregnancy and childbirth. More than ever, women and newborns need quality maternity care services - and healthworkers must be supported to provide that care. There are no exceptions in times of crisis, even the current COVID-19 pandemic, which is putting more pressure on already overstrained health systems around the world.

We hear from new mother Saima from Pakistan and doula Annie Arenas, who share their experiences with birth during the time of COVID. We are joined by Rt. Hon Helen Clark, Former Prime Minister of New Zealand and current board chair of PMNCH about what leadership in times of crisis looks like, and how listening to women's voices is the key to saving lives. Together, we have the power to destroy the structures that harm women during pregnancy and childbirth!
Transcripts and more information available at www.whiteribbonalliance.org/bravevoicespodcast