title: Cruelty in maternity wards: fifty years later.
abstract: Fifty years have passed since a scandal broke over inhumane treatment of laboring women in U.S. hospitals, yet first-person and eyewitness reports document that medical care providers continue to subject childbearing women to verbal and physical abuse and even to what would constitute sexual assault in any other context. Women frequently are denied their right to make informed decisions about care and may be punished for attempting to assert their right to refusal. Mistreatment is not uncommon and persists because of factors inherent to hospital social culture. Concerted action on the part of all stakeholders will be required to bring about systemic reform.
authors.affiliation: HENCI GOER is the author of The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth and is at work on the second edition of Obstetric Myths versus Research Realities, her highly acclaimed resource for childbirth professionals. She served as project director and Expert Work Group member for the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services' Evidence Basis for the Ten Steps of Mother-Friendly Care. Goer moderates Lamaze International's online Ask Henci Forum and contributes regularly to the Lamaze research blog, Science & Sensibility.
authors.forename: Henci
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Goer