The undersigned organisations uphold respectful maternity care as a cornerstone of safe, positive, and person-centred experiences throughout pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period, and as a key public health priority worldwide. As signatories, we support the principles and recommendations laid out in the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) 2025 statement on respectful care.[1]
This joint statement brings together organisations committed to advancing respectful maternity care internationally, with additional support invited from other professional societies, health services and consumer groups.
What respectful maternity care means
Globally recognised as a fundamental human right, respectful maternity care is described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as person-centred care that prioritises dignity, enables informed choice, and protects from harm and mistreatment.
In clinical practice, this may look like:
- Each pregnant or birthing woman/person is treated with compassion and respect, and recognised as the primary decision maker
- Clear, balanced and evidence-based information is delivered in a timely manner, allowing informed consent to be freely given
- Care is culturally safe and trauma-informed, with plain language used and interpreters provided where needed
- Continuous support is offered from maternity care staff and consistent access to chosen support companions
- When a birthing woman’s decisions differ from clinical recommendations, care continues respectfully and without coercion
Why it matters
Even in countries with some of the safest maternal and newborn outcomes in the world, many women do not have a positive birthing experience. Global discourse on birth trauma has seen a rise in testimonies of feeling unheard, rushed, unprepared for a change in plan or emergency, and experiences of care that were not centred on the birthing person.
Across countries and health systems, experiences of disrespect and barriers to respectful maternity care can disproportionately affect Indigenous women, women from ethnic and linguistic minority communities, migrant and refugee women, women with disability or facing socioeconomic disadvantage, and people from other marginalised or minority groups.
The communities affected and the barriers they face vary across settings. These inequities are shaped by system-level barriers including bias, discrimination, racism, language and communication gaps, and limited access to culturally safe care. These gaps can be addressed by working in partnership with women and their communities, strengthening access to multidisciplinary continuity of care and appropriate language support, and prioritising culturally safe, trauma-informed practice in training.
The impacts of disrespectful maternity care are significant and lasting. Such experiences can cause psychological trauma, disrupt bonding with the newborn baby, and erode trust in health services. Consequences are felt by entire families and communities, and often also affect maternity care providers, who report feelings of distress when they cannot provide the care they want to give.
Working together
Disrespectful maternity care must be recognised and addressed wherever it occurs. Preventing it requires attention to both individual practice and the conditions in which care is delivered. Clinicians often work under significant pressure from understaffing, high workload demands, rising complexity and high-stakes decisions, and the toll of vicarious trauma.
Effective collaboration is the best way forward. Obstetricians, midwives, general practitioners and family physicians, anaesthetists, allied health workers and other maternity care providers have a shared responsibility for providing respectful care. Culturally safe and trauma-informed communication, ongoing consent, and shared decision-making must be embedded into each touchpoint of pregnancy and perinatal care.
Collective advocacy for the resourcing, staffing and working conditions that enable respectful care is essential. System-wide action is required to embed respectful care and consumer expectations into service design, governance and workforce development.[2]
Our shared commitment
Respectful maternity care is a fundamental right and a shared responsibility. Every woman should be treated with dignity, have her voice heard and her choices respected, and receive safe, compassionate care throughout pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period.
As signatories, we commit to advancing respectful maternity care through education, clinical practice, advocacy and partnership with women and communities. We reject mistreatment in all its forms and call for meaningful action to prevent harm, address concerns and ensure accountability.
We call on governments, health services and professional organisations worldwide to join us in this commitment: to use language that supports trust and collaboration, and to provide the resources, leadership and working conditions that make respectful maternity care a reality for every woman, in every setting.
