COVID- 19 Containment Measures, Perinatal Experiences, and the Fight for Childbirth Rights in Portugal.
Autor: Catarina Barata, Dulce Morgado Neves; Mário JDS Santos
Artigo | Barata, Catarina, Dulce Morgado Neves and Mário JDS Santos (2020) “COVID- 19 Containment Measures, Perinatal Experiences, and the Fight for Childbirth Rights in Portugal.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly Rapid Response Blog Series
Resumo: In Portugal, as in many other countries, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the highly medicalized, interventionist, and disrespectful manner in which facility-based births were happening before the outbreak. In line with nationwide containment measures adopted to prevent the spread of the disease – particularly within healthcare institutions – several measures and procedures were readily implemented in maternal and newborn care, impacting women’s perinatal experiences and those of their families. After the implementation of these measure self-organized groups of citizens joined civil society organizations in voicing concerns over the multiple limitations on women’s rights in obstetric care services, such as birth companion prohibition, as well as in devising strategies to demand the reinstatement of those rights.
