Trigger warning: please note that Roshni’s* story below includes mentions of coercion and birth trauma.
Roshni*
Despite working in the medical profession in the West Midlands, Roshni felt categorised and discriminated against due to harmful stereotypes about the size of Asian babies. Here she explains how she was coerced into an induction…
“Due to a medical condition, I was under consultant-led care throughout the whole pregnancy. With that, they told me I needed extra growth scans. At one of my appointments, I was told that due to my condition (Ulcerative Colitis) I would not be allowed to go to full term. I never actually saw the consultant, I saw a registrar.
When I asked ‘Why?’ they said because this condition can cause complications. But what? I didn’t know. When I asked, I really didn’t get a clear answer. I felt that they were pigeonholing me, because I had no bowel complications or issues throughout. The research I did showed I could still go to full term. But then I was also told that the amniotic fluid around my baby was a bit high. This was reported by the sonographer.”
“Purely based on my ethnicity, the registrar automatically assumed that I probably have gestational diabetes as I am Asian and stated that my baby was “too big” for an Asian baby. But my husband’s family are all six feet tall.”
“They put me on a pathway for likely induction. I asked if I could return for a repeat scan to check. I asked if I could be tested for diabetes instead of being presumed. In both instances they said ‘No, there’s no point and it’s too late in the pregnancy’.
That night I spoke with a friend whose mum is a retired midwife as I was upset and felt unheard. She reported that my baby sounded like a normal healthy baby regardless of ethnicity. Additionally, she said that amniotic fluid can increase for many reasons, not necessarily because of gestational diabetes.
When I went for a repeat scan, the amniotic fluid had returned to normal, and the consultant told me I could go to full term.”
“Suddenly, I got another letter in the post. When measured, they said that my baby was too big for an Asian baby and that I needed to be induced. I didn’t agree to the decision.”
“I rang the midwife the next day as I wasn’t happy and told her I would rather have a stretch and sweep.
I ended up having my baby’s movement monitored, and was told I should talk to the consultant. The consultant wasn’t available to see me until after midnight, and just repeated that the decision was final – I needed an induction as my ‘baby was too big for an Asian baby’.”
I was lost for words, absolutely devastated. I felt that I was made to feel guilty and something could happen to my baby if I didn’t go ahead with their plans.
“I got a phone call the same morning I returned home and my induction was booked for that same day! When I came to the hospital the midwife said, ‘Your records say we have to treat you as diabetic. Are you diabetic?’ I said ‘No,’ and explained what happened. She called a doctor and I ended up being treated as NOT diabetic but induced anyway.
The induction process was long. I was induced on the Friday, and my baby didn’t arrive until the Monday.
The whole induction process felt coerced. My baby was 8lb and delivered via forceps. But the need for forceps only happened due to complication of induction! I am a healthcare professional myself, and I believe it was the process of induction that led to issues.”
I was upset and felt like I was unheard and racially pigeonholed.
“I was also pigeonholed for my condition which had no part in my pregnancy. I have friends that are the same build as me and their baby pretty much measured the same throughout pregnancy weight-wise as mine and they could go full term. I wish I had had that option. But as it was my first baby, I felt scared and discriminated against, with the rhetoric being that Asians cannot handle pregnancy. This was despite all the consultants and registrars I interacted with being of Asian heritage! I felt like I wasn’t being seen as a woman, but purely a number bringing in a baby.”
*name has been changed to protect 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.