All people are entitled to exercise the full range of human rights, without facing different treatment on the basis of personal characteristics. Inequalities in maternity care occur at the systemic and societal level, around problems including poverty, nutrition, and access to healthcare. Inequality and discrimination also play out in maternity care at the individual level, when women are disrespected, not listened to, or otherwise treated as “less than” by their care providers or others involved in their healthcare. Women of color are at significantly increased risk of dying in childbirth, and of losing their babies around birth. This inequality plays out in global maternal mortality rates, and within developed nations in mortality discrepancies between racial-ethnic groups. In countries across Europe, foreign-born and immigrant women are at significantly increased risk of maternal and perinatal mortality and low birth weight babies. In the USA, African-American women receive more cesarean sections than any other racial group and are 3-4 times more likely to die in childbirth than other Americans.
Right to Equal Treatment
The human right to equal treatment means that each person should be given the same options and support in maternity care as other people, and not stigmatized on the basis of personal characteristics. This right is violated when people are treated differently, without an evidence-based clinical reason for that distinction, on the basis of physical factors like age, body mass index, disability, HIV status, or infibulation. All pregnant people have the right to dignity, informed consent and respectful support in childbirth, regardless of the “risk category” in which they are perceived to belong.