Trigger warning: please note that Hannah*’s story below includes mentions of coercion and birth trauma.
Hannah*
Experienced mum Hannah* tells us about the coercion she faced in the lead up to giving birth to her third child.
“I was pregnant with my third child when I received a positive diagnosis for Group B strep. This was after a test I had done in hospital when I was admitted for an unknown infection. I was not told that this is what the test was for, I was told it was to check for sexually transmitted diseases, being ill I did not question it further. ”
“I was planning a home birth but was told in my routine appointments that this would need to be a hospital birth now with antibiotics. In this appointment I immediately became emotional due to the fact that in my previous pregnancy I had been treated in such a way in hospital it had caused severe PTSD. I knew that if I did have another hospital birth my mental health would not remain on a good level. During my previous hospital stay I had nightmares, anxiety and panic attacks.”
“When I questioned my midwife at the routine appointment and asked whether that was the only option, or could we still talk about home birth, she referred me to an appointment with a consultant in the hospital. Between this initial appointment and meeting with the consultant I did in-depth research into Group B Strep and was confident in my decision to continue with a home birth and without antibiotics. I was confident I would spot any signs of infection in the baby and that I could raise concerns if needed. ”
“The consultant did apologise for previous birth trauma and stated that nobody should ever be treated with disrespect. However, she then told me I ‘wasn’t allowed’ to have a home birth and had to come into hospital. I stated I am ‘allowed’ to do anything I want with my body. She laughed in my face and said, ‘Not with Group B Strep – you are high risk and its dangerous for the baby’. I knew at this point my research was far more in-depth than any information the consultant could provide and was confident in my choices. I stood up and stated, ‘I am leaving this appointment because you aren’t giving me facts and this conversation is over’. She then wrote in my online notes that I was emotional and irrational and walked out of my appointment refusing any treatment even with high risks. Leaving the appointment, I felt once again let down by the hospital. The language used was appalling and coercive and the fact that she recognised I had previous birth trauma and then completely dismissed my thoughts and feelings was a disgrace.
“After this appointment my midwife called and stated she completely agreed with me that the risks were not certain, and home birth was completely possible and better for my mental health.
“Another routine appointment later and she said that her manager wanted to speak to me, and if I didn’t agree to antibiotics then I may be referred to social services. I knew this was coercion again and got in touch with Birthrights to confirm. ”
“A home visit from my midwife’s manager occurred, under the premise of making sure the midwives were supported in their support for me. But in reality, this was another meeting designed to change my mind. I was given a document stating the hospital’s policy of giving antibiotics. I agreed that if my baby was to show any signs of infection, I would go into hospital for monitoring – this was never a question in my mind. But the whole meeting was to scare me into a hospital birth with antibiotics, referring to the threat of social services for my birth choices again.
“The hospital then arranged extra scans for me, and I was repeatedly hounded by phone calls trying to arrange scans and asking why I hadn’t attended.
“The whole ordeal just added to the anxiety of dealing with previous trauma and feeling like history was repeating itself.”
“The whole ordeal just added to the anxiety of dealing with previous trauma and feeling like history was repeating itself.”
However, due to her own independent research, as well as consulting with Birthrights, Hannah was able to advocate for herself and ultimately gave birth to a healthy baby boy at home.
“He did have some irregular breathing, so we ended up transferring to hospital where I asked to be put in the children’s ward rather than the postnatal ward due to that being a huge trigger for me. The first doctor to see him said the issue was normal and that he just needed more time to clear his lungs and adapt to the world. When on the ward, another doctor said they were going to give him antibiotics, and that we would need to be in hospital for a few days. I had to ask about the risks of antibiotics as no information was given, I was just told ‘we are giving him antibiotics’. There was no consent asked for, just a direct statement of what they were going to do. I refused all treatment for him, asking for more time for him to adapt naturally. They agreed and then offered the information that he was only on the borderline of abnormal breathing anyway.
“The whole ordeal made me feel like I was constantly fighting to birth my baby my way. To me, birth is sacred and it felt like I was being dishonoured every time I was told what I was ‘allowed’ to do. My husband is in the police so threats of referral to social services felt terrifying, what if it affected his work over nothing?”
* name has been changed to preserve anonymity.
Read our report ‘End Coercion in Maternity Care in the UK’You can access our FREE human rights information factsheets here, and find further resources around coercion via the button above.