Humanizing Childbirth: An Emerging Protest Movement

A man and a woman come together to bring a new life into this world, through the body of the woman in a process, called childbirth. This, in most part of the world, is celebrated as a happy occasion. Among the communities such as Kgtlas of South Africa, Yorubas of western Nigeria, and Hindus of India, a married couple, especially the wife, acquires new dignity after giving birth to a child. Nevertheless, a sizable chunk of women today deal with pain, abuse, insults, disrespect and even death during the process of child birth. At times it becomes a nightmare for the birthing women when they face abuses in the hands of healthcare personnel who are supposed to care for them. This paper starts by discussing different forms abusive practices mated out to pregnant women in different parts of the world. It then goes on to briefly illustrate the genesis and historical development of the phenomenon. As a result of widespread abusive practices, a number of protest movements have been emerging throughout the world. After shading some lights on those emerging protest to humanize childbirth, the paper ends with contextualizing the phenomenon to Indian scenario and suggesting a roadmap that may lead to adopting humanizing practices during childbirth in Indian institutions.