I ran across this writing on a site called, "Birth Trauma Truths" and wonder what my fellow nurses think and/or feel about it. Me: Mother was Army Cadet RN, put me to work on the county hospital L & D when I was 13 years old. I have now been a Registered Nurse in all areas for over 42 years. Even with precips I always made a point to drape Mom and explain everything everybody was doing. I once solo delivered a babe in the floor of the hallway outside ICU, while a code was going on inside! I had never heard of Birth Rape but apparently it has been around on midwife's sites for quite some time. Weigh in and discuss, discuss.
FROM BIRTH TRAUMA TRUTHS -
A vulnerable woman, who is powerless to leave the situation, is at times held down against her will, has strangers looking & touching at private parts of her body, perhaps without appropriate measures being taken to acknowledge her ownership of her body or to preserve her comfort levels. Perhaps she has fingers or instruments inserted without her consent, and sometimes against her consent, invading and crossing decent boundaries. She is fearful of what is happening to her and perhaps for the wellbeing of her baby, and receives no reassurance that either she or her child are ok. That is a violation, no matter how you look at it. Even IF this treatment is given with no malice and the intent of attempting to assist her with birthing her child, there is NEVER a reason to forgo common decencies that will enable her to maintain a role in the birth, some autonomy over her body, to be involved in the decision-making, to be informed about what they want to do BEFORE they do it.
