International Human Rights and the Mistreatment of Women during Childbirth

This article focuses on the mistreatment of women during childbirth and identifies this area of international law as underdeveloped. The author conducts a comprehensive review of the human rights standards in international law pertaining to the mistreatment of women during childbirth. The main categories of mistreatment are physical, sexual, and verbal abuse; stigma and discrimination; care that falls short of professional standards; and poor rapport with providers. The author then identifies more specific forms of mistreatment within each category and the human rights that combat each. The author identifies this research as useful to health care providers and policymakers in identifying forms of mistreatment in order to monitor violations, further goals of accountability, and developing measures to prevent such violations using international legal framework.