“With my first baby’s labour I felt anxious, I was in pain and screaming. The Midwife was sniggering and making fun of me, saying ‘What will you be like during your actual birth.’ Staff who came in saw my headscarf and kept asking ‘Do you speak English?’ and do you understand what I am saying? If they made an effort to glance at my notes, they would have seen that I didn’t need a translator. The doctor came in as I was half dressed and not wearing my Hijab. He just knocked and then barged in. I called out to say ‘Just a minute’ but he didn’t wait” Anonymous 1
Raham Project heard this story at one of our listening events. A poll conducted by Human Rights organisation Birthrights (2002) found that 31% of maternity service users from ethnic communities who were treated poorly by midwives and doctors felt this was because of their race or ethnicity.
Raham Project gave time and space for the mother to share her experience. She realised she was not alone and did not deserve to be treated the way she had. Raham Project anonymously informs the local maternity services about all experiences we hear, positive and negative. We work with them to address areas of weakness in the system, identify training needs and use these experiences to change the way care is delivered.
