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?