The pregnant woman suffered a series of mistreatment and neglect by the midwives, which led to the loss of her daughter Aurora on the day of the birth.
What was supposed to be just a follow-up prenatal appointment for the lawyer and social worker PV * it became an unfortunate accident that would pave the way for a series of abuse and neglect that he will never forget. She was nearing the end of her pregnancy. Aurora and, during the physical examination, the first abuse occurred.
“I lay down on the stretcher, and when she [obstetra] started, I started to writhe, a lot of pain. I can take the pain, but I feel like I’m crying. It burned and burned. My eyes were watering “, she says, in an interview with Land.
At the end of the examination, the doctor said that he had only “introduced his fingers”, as the victim recalls. In his memory is still the image of the midwife’s bloody fingers, which marked the first time she bled during pregnancy. “Get used to it, that’s how it is,” said the midwife.
Shocked, she asked for a tampon, but got no answer. The solution was to leave the office with a few pieces of toilet paper in my underwear, crying in pain. Earlier, V. had heard from the professional that he was dilated by three centimeters and that the prediction for the onset of labor was, at most, two days. That week the midwife was going on vacation.
“When I was about to open my mouth to ask her to stop because I couldn’t, she stopped. I asked what she did and what she used, and she said, ‘I feel raped,'” reported one obstetric violence victim. digital examination in the final stage of pregnancy.
At home, V. told a friend, who is a doula, what had happened and asked if it was a normal exam. It was then that he learned that, at the moment of the touch, the doctor performed a procedure to anticipate delivery without his permission: the detachment of the membranes.
“I was very tense, I didn’t know what to do,” she recalls.
The victim believes that the midwife performed the maneuver without her consent in order to participate in the birth before leaving for the holidays. “I think she was embarrassed to pass me to another doctor,” she concludes.
Violence that has a name
What the VF lawyer lived has a name: obstetric violence. And it is defined by the obstetrician Braulio Zorzella as the opposite extreme of humanized childbirth. The practitioner is a representative of the Labor and Birth Humanization Network (ReHuNa) and an activist for the rights of pregnant women.
The term was coined in 2010, at a conference in Venezuela, and helped name the opposite of what would be the best possible experience for women during pregnancy and childbirth.
“Since I graduated, perhaps I have seen more cases of obstetric violence than without”, evaluates the doctor, who establishes a pattern: the most frequent cases of this type of violence are the use of the Kristeller maneuver, the episiotomy and the use of oxytocin.
Procedures are adopted to speed up delivery, pushing the belly into an outdated maneuver, unnecessarily cutting the perineum, or using a synthetic hormone to reduce the time it takes for the baby to be born. On the contrary, the humanized birth, advocated by Zorzella, is based on three indispensable pillars.
“The first, and the main thing, is the assisted person, in this case the pregnant woman. She is the main person to listen to, in what she wants and what she wants; then comes the scientific evidence and, also, the professional who is witnessing, “he explains.
contractions ignored
“Being heard” was not a reality for VF, not just subjected to invasive counseling. The night she went into labor, a few days after the physical examination, the doctors who saw her in a private hospital couldn’t believe she was having contractions. Instead, they believed she was a kidney stone. But the doctors also refused to take tests to confirm.
“They did not want to disturb”, accuses the victim, who was medicated and placed under observation. “Dying in pain,” she defines.
Around midnight, an interception of Aurora’s heartbeat confirmed that everything was fine and the pros went to rest. V. she was still in pain, but she remembers that she thought she was normal and part of the birth process.
“I was screaming in pain, I thought I would pass out,” he adds.
It was already 4 in the morning when a new interception was made. This time, however, the baby’s heartbeat was far away. For a moment, he even thought the equipment was out of place. It was then that his belly contracted aggressively, resembling a “withered passion fruit,” as he explains.
The doctor then said: “That, yes, is a contraction.” “I mean, until then, all I was going through was not a contraction. For the moment they denied that I was in labor. They did not accept that I was in labor, I don’t know why,” ventures the victim. .
the child was born lifeless
Despite everything she had been through up to that point, V. had no idea that the worst was yet to come. The bag had to be opened, due to the urgency.
“I didn’t see it, but when the water broke, my partner was on the side and almost fell, because a meconium [primeiras fezes do bebê]”she recalls, in tears.
She was then taken to the operating room, where she underwent an emergency caesarean section. Aurora was born lifeless. The distant sound that the doctors had heard was actually the placenta making the ejection movement of the baby.
“Since that time, from midnight to 4 in the morning, there was a lack of oxygen at one point and she had severe anoxia,” recalls the mother.
The team spent half an hour trying to revive her, but it failed.
“I just want justice”
Sometime after the big loss, V. decided to sue the hospital, as she had been discredited by the team when she needed the attention most. The dehumanization of your birth took Aurora’s lifecompletely changing the plans of the victim and his partner.
THE obstetric violence is not characterized by criminal offense according to Brazilian law, then, V. asks for compensation for moral, material and psychological damage to the hospital. She is represented by the lawyer Ruth Rodrigueswho is also president of the Nascer Direito collective, which helps victims of obstetric violence.
The lawyer explains that, even in the absence of specific legislation, it is possible to characterize the crime when it occurs.
“Violence can be considered a crime, because we already have criminal types that frame it as a crime, like personal injury,” he explains.
The same happened in the case of the model Shantal Verdelho, who denounced the violence suffered during the birth of her first child in 2021. In her case, verbally offended by the obstetrician Renato Kalil, it is possible to hold him legally responsible for the incident. The Rio de Janeiro Civil Police can charge you with personal injury and psychological violence, for example.
“We don’t need a law that says obstetric violence is a crime. We need legal professionals – Prosecutor, Ombudsman’s Office, prosecutors, delegates – to understand that these behaviors during childbirth are inappropriate,” he defends. the lawyer. Ruth Rodrigues.
However, she admits that a classification would help inform and educate women about their rights and, to doctors, their duties and limitations during the follow-up of pregnant women. “I’m not against it, I’m in favor. But I don’t think we can rely on it to act. We already have enough legislation to defend these women,” says Ruth.
What does Brazil do about it?
The Ministry of Health has not specified what it does to inhibit cases of obstetric violence in Brazil, but highlights the guarantee of obstetric and neonatal health care as one of the pillars of the Maternal and Child Care Network (Rami), established by the GM / MS Ordinance nº 715, of 4 April 2022, and by the GM / MS 2228, of 1 July 2022.
“Rami is made up of a welfare network that aims to guarantee women the right to humanized and safe assistance for family planning, pregnancy, abortion, childbirth and the postnatal period, as well as the right of the child to a safe birth. , healthy growth and development. The network is based on the understanding that safety and quality are intrinsic pillars of humanization and global care, “the ministry said in a statement.
or Land also searched the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM), both by email and by phone, but until the last publication of this report the agency has not appointed a professional in the area to explain how CFM inhibits or punishes cases of obstetric violence . The space remains open.
* With editing by Estela Marques.
Source: Terra
Benjamin Smith is a fashion journalist and author at Gossipify, known for his coverage of the latest fashion trends and industry insights. He writes about clothing, shoes, accessories, and runway shows, providing in-depth analysis and unique perspectives. He’s respected for his ability to spot emerging designers and trends, and for providing practical fashion advice to readers.
