PERSPECTIVE Mistreatment of Women in Childbirth: Time for Action on This Important Dimension of Violence against Women

The mistreatment of women in childbirth has been documented by researchers for over three decades in all global regions. The scale of the problem is indicated by a systematic review conducted by Meghan Bohren and colleagues [1], which provides a foundation from which a typology of violence can be developed and used as a basis for developing measurement instru-ments and tools. This is a valuable complement to other work that is currently underway in this area [2]. A multicountry study on the mistreatment of women during childbirth could be extremely valuable in generating comparable information on prevalence, risk groups and facili-ties, and the health consequences (physical and mental, including future health-seeking prac-tices and expectations). It would provide the foundation needed for developing health policy, monitoring its impact, and advocating for proper resources. Mistreatment of Women in Childbirth as a Subset of Violence against Women From Bohren and colleagues ’ systematic review, it is very easy to draw parallels between the mistreatment of women in childbirth and violence against women more broadly, and these parallels may lead us to conclude that the former should indeed be viewed as a further subse