When gynaecologists gaslight women

[Soubriquet]

link

Absolutely heartbreaking to read

I had to stop reading after the first few paragraphs OP, truly shocking. Those poor women, I don't think I'd ever be the same again if I'd suffered like that.

really interesting article, thanks for linking

the website looks good too - have book marked

Heartbreaking. When I was a teenager, a cut on my lip had to be sewn with 5 stitches or so. Local anaesthesia did not work, but my pain was Dismissed. Still annoys me thinking of it. Pales, of course, in comparison to what These women endure - Horrific.
God, I can‘t think about it too long, or My brain will put together a Wohle inner Movie of revenge - Falling down-Style.

“The maternity care system is engrained with gender-based power dynamics on many levels: client (women) and physician (mostly men); midwives, nurses (women) and physician (mostly men); affected population (women and children) and policy-makers or decision-makers (men).”

In this, they have the support of Ivana Ninčević Lesandrić, who stated “I will continue to work with RODA and other groups in Croatia until the government takes concrete steps to guarantee quality and human rights in women's reproductive healthcare.
But as well as a change in policy, RODA is advocating for a much wider cultural shift in favour of listening to women. They want to encourage women to understand they don’t have to accept invasive and painful procedures without an anesthetic. By breaking the silence on obstetric violence, they hope that women will “advocate for themselves and actively ask for better care.”

I always request/consult female gynaecologists now - I prefer older women who have had children plus the male ones I've come across recently have been frankly pervy.

Great article and much needed as again these battles were fought years ago and little by little men have gained the upper hand again

This is one of the reasons why I decided not to have children. My mother told me what the experience was like for her and how horribly she was treated during labour and after I was born, and I decided that I just couldn't take the risk of the same happening to me.

I always request/consult female gynaecologists now - I prefer older women who have had children.

I've had some awful experiences with female HCP's not taking me seriously too, from the gynecologist who shouted at me as an 18 year old during colposcopy clinic, to the Midwife I had during the birth of Ds1 who was highly irritated by my asking for paracetamol during labour. The culture of disbelieving women is ingrained into the profession at all levels.

I also had my second degree tear stitched up without any anaesthetic. The male Dr injected me but it didn't work for some reason. He began to stitch and I cried out and grabbed the gas and air that was still near me from the birth. He said 'it can't hurt, you've been numbed!' and carried on. I took deep breaths of g&a and hoped for him to finish quickly.

Those poor women, that article makes depressing reading.

On a slight tangent after reading that it immediately took me back
to the Italian doctor who kept tugging at my half removed toenail
regardless that the local anaesthetic had worn off. The pain took
my breath away.

I also had my second degree tear stitched up without any anaesthetic

I had the same and the (female) midwife didn't even bother trying to anaesthetise me and seemed highly irritated that I was screaming in pain.

I know health care professionals are something akin to saints these days but every midwife/nurse/hca/dr I had during the birth of my two kids were awful and the majority of them were women.

The same the world over....
Very depressing that women's healthcare / maternity care is still in this dreadful state.

How awful for those women. I always feel that my experience was very much not the norm, which is outrageous! I had a very very traumatic labour and delivery, culminating in an EMCS. My son very nearly died. I was genuinely looked after so well. I had two wonderful midwives and the only person there was even a minor issue with was the anaesthetist who was trying to site a spinal block while I was 10cm and mid contraction. DH said the glare from the midwife made his toes curl and it wasn’t even directed at him. Rambling now, sorry, but it’s shocking that my good experience is the only one out of my close friends. Everyone else has felt ignored, pressured into decisions, pressured into induction, not listened to and in two cases badly damaged due to a mishandled delivery. One of my sisters friends was refused pain relief for 42 stitches, she said she was screaming and was told off for writhing around. Something needs to be done.

A midwife - knowing my epidural wasn;t working because I was begging her to get the anaesthetist back to sort it out and crawling around on my hands and knees - wrote in my notes that I wasn't in pain and I was then given a forceps delivery with accompanying epistiotomy without any pain relief at all (not even a local).

I was told I couldn’t possibly be in as much pain as I was during labour. My baby was b2b and I was in agony - when baby started to emerge the midwife said “oh, that’s why you were in pain! That must have really hurt!”

No fucking shit. One child only here. No more for me.

I couldn't read all of that article . What women are expected to endure is just awful. In my own case in two separate pregnancies I had unauthorised sweeps which were never recorded in my notes. Similarly to another poster above, I was barked at to keep still for an epidural while having off the chart contractions I have the print outs to prove it and even dh told me I was grand, just do what I was told. Talking about it a few years later with dh, I actually had to get my maternity notes to show him he was talking bollocks about what had happened.