A report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ?CDC, for its acronym in English? noted that, according to a survey, 20 percent of women reported experiences of abuse during pregnancy and childbirth care.
According to a new CDC Vital Signs report, abuse during maternity care was highest among black women ?30 percent?, Hispanic ?29 percent? and multiracial ?27 percent?.
"Every mother deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Maternal care is a critical component of this nation's health care, and the Biden-Harris administration is committed to improving maternal health outcomes," said US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, Xavier Becerra. "Bias, stigma, and mistreatment have no place in our health care systems," he added.
Women without insurance ?28 percent? or with public insurance ?26 percent? at the time of childbirth they receive more mistreatment during maternity care than women with private insurance ?16 percent?.
The most common types of abuse reported were: failure to respond to requests for help, yelling or scolding, failure to protect physical privacy, and threats not to treat or make them accept unwanted treatment.
CDC analyzed data from the Porter Novelli View Mom Survey conducted in English between April 24 and 30, 2023, to examine the components of respectful care. While most of the 2,402 mothers surveyed reported overall satisfaction with the maternity care received, satisfaction was lower among those who received abuse.
It should be noted that improving the quality of maternity care is one approach that can prevent pregnancy-related deaths, and all women deserve respectful maternity care that maintains their dignity, privacy and confidentiality, ensuring they are not harmed or mistreated. , and that includes their participation in decision-making, and provides them with ongoing support.
"As a health care community, we need to do everything we can to make sure we're providing equitable and respectful care to women during pregnancy and childbirth," said CDC Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry.
“Health systems, hospitals, and providers can take steps to improve care and lower the risk of pregnancy-related complications and death for all women. This data shows that we need to do a better job of supporting moms."
In addition, the survey revealed that 29 percent of women reported discrimination during maternity care.
The most common reasons for reported discrimination were age, weight, and income, and varied by race or ethnic group.
In this sense, black women ?40 percent?, multiracial ?39 percent? and Hispanic ?37 percent? reported the highest rates of discrimination. Experiences of racial discrimination have previously been associated with pregnancy complications.
Almost half ?45 percent? of women reported refraining from asking questions and discussing their concerns with their provider during maternity care due to believing what they were feeling was normal, not wanting to make a big deal out of it, or feeling ashamed to talk about it, believing that the doctor would think they were being problematic, think their doctor seemed rushed, or not feel sure they knew what they were talking about.
"As a black doctor, mother, and woman, it disheartens me to hear how common abuse is, and to see the differences in abuse and discrimination during maternity care based on things like race and insurance coverage," highlighted the director of the CDC's Division of Reproductive Health, Wanda Barfield.
“We know that racism and discrimination can lead to treatment delays and sometimes tragic and preventable deaths. Training on unconscious bias and culturally appropriate care can be a first step in understanding how to provide respectful maternity care for all women," she stressed.
The CDC noted that respectful maternity care can be part of actions taken at many levels to reduce pregnancy-related deaths, so health care systems can promote respectful maternity care by recruiting and retaining a workforce. diverse, and train all health care personnel to recognize unconscious bias and stigma.
It also recommended that health care systems can promote quality improvement measures with a focus on increasing respectful maternity care for all women equally, while health care professionals can take steps to make patients feel respected, understood and valued while being cared for.
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