Brave Voices, Bold Actions: Women's Health, Rights & You - Better together: why are we still separating newborns from their mothers immediately after childbirth?

Better together: why are we still separating newborns from their mothers immediately after childbirth?

01/19/21 • 19 min

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 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?

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?

Previous Episode

undefined - En Español - COVID-19: el reto para México y la salud de las mujeres/Spanish-language episode - COVID-19: The Challenge for Mexico and Women’s Health

En Español - COVID-19: el reto para México y la salud de las mujeres/Spanish-language episode - COVID-19: The Challenge for Mexico and Women’s Health

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 Spanish-language episode of the Brave Voices, Bold Actions podcast, we’re talking about the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on pregnancy and childbirth in Mexico.
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 over-strained health systems around the world.

We hear from Maura Giron, from Chiapas, about her experience navigating a pregnancy that started just as COVID hit Mexico, and from doula Annie Arenas, who shares her experiences adapting and continuing to provide care for women during the time of COVID. We are joined by Dr. Karla Berdichevsky, the Director of Mexico’s National Center for Gender Equity and Reproductive Health about the steps governments are taking and can take together with civil society partners, to continue prioritizing women’s sexual and reproductive health.
Together, we have the power to destroy the structures that harm women during pregnancy and childbirth, during crises and beyond!
TOPICS

How has COVID-19 impacted women’s experiences of pregnancy and childbirth?
How can healthworkers be better supported to provide the care that mothers need during this pandemic?
What can governments and individuals do to ensure all women and newborns receive the respectful, dignified care they need during childbirth—even during a crisis?

Next Episode

Unrecognized and uncounted: Why a legal identity from birth is a universal human right

This episode of White Ribbon Alliance’s Brave Voices, Bold Actions podcast explores Article 9 of the Respectful Maternity Care Charter, and the right every child has to an identity and nationality from birth.

We start with Samuel Senfuka, who went through an arduous process to prove that he had been born and legally existed while applying for school in Uganda. Then we chat with legal identity expert and TED Talk speaker Kristen Wenz about the role of maternal and child health services in upholding the right to an identity and nationality from birth for all children, everywhere.

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

Topics

How many people around the world don’t have a birth certificate or “legal identity”?
What part does gender play in the issue of legal identity?
Why is it a fundamental human right to have an identity and nationality from birth?