Your Birth Rights
The first thing you can do to feel confident and autonomous on your birth is to be aware of your rights and what care you are entitled to and expect.
1. You have a right to be treated with dignity and respect.
Hospitals, under human rights law, must treat you with dignity and respect. Any healthcare professional (doctors, midwives & nurses) should be communicating with you in a respectful and polite way.
They should not be pushing you but supporting you to make the best decisions for yourself and your care. They should never be making assumptions about what they feel you need.
If you need an interpreter, your team need to make sure you have one available to you.
Privacy is a big factor. You should be afforded it when you need it i.e. when chestfeeding or at points during labour. You should never be left feeling vulnerable or exposed.
If you have accessibility or accommodation needs such as feeling comfortable with being cared for by female practitioners. These needs should be respected where possible. Also, if you have a disability, your medical team should be ensuring you have equal access to care and you aren’t disadvantaged and they provide you with the support you need i.e. the use of an accessible toilet, additional support if needed after having the baby and other environmental changes to help you feel as comfortable, safe and independent as possible.
2. You have the right to say no at any point.
You always have the right to make your own decisions throughout your pregnancy and birth. The same precedent should be taken for any other aspect of your medical care.
Medical professionals must ask for your consent to agree to any medical treatment. They must ask permission before examining you, monitoring your baby or administering medication to you. This is the law and you can say no at any point and your want should be respected.
It is against the law to give you any medical treatment you never agreed to or coerce or pressure you into going through with something. Medical coercion is also unlawful. If no option is given where you can refuse treatment or be given the opportunity to say no, you’re not giving your full consent if you don’t know all your options.
If at any point you are undecided about your options or choice, you have the right to ask for more time to make your decision.
Even if you do give consent to an option, you can still change your mind.
If medical professionals don’t agree with the decisions you are making for yourself or your baby, they should still be respecting them.
For you to give your consent, you need to understand the treatment or options available to you to make your own decisions about it. You need to be given information in a format and way that you understand. Any option should be framed to you with the benefits, risks, alternatives, using your intuition or what would happen if you decide to do nothing.
Lawfully a baby has no rights until they are born. Therefore, during pregnancy and birth, you cannot be given treatment unless you agree even if medical professionals think it is the best option for your unborn baby. You are always free to make choices against medical advice.
No one, including family, friends or healthcare professionals should ever put pressure on you or coerce or bully you into having a procedure you never agreed to.
The only circumstance where someone can make decisions is if you ever lack the mental capacity to make a decision for yourself. This is a very rare occasion, and if needed your medical team should then be processing a Mental Capacity Act so they can make a decision “in your best interest.”
This is why it’s great to have all eventualities covered in your birth plan and for your birth partner to be clued up and your preferences and wants in case of emergency so you have it evidenced and have someone who knows you who can communicate on your behalf in an emergency,
3. When you ask for specific care, your team should always start from a point of accommodating your needs rather than immediately saying “no”.
Maternity providers should be doing their best to meet your requests.
In their care, you have the right to make decisions that feel best for you i.e. you can choose to give birth in a hospital, at home or at a birth centre. You should also be able to have a c-section if you want one.
There can be restrictions on your rights to make certain choices. Birth centres may have policies on who can use them or hospitals have policies also on who can request a water birth. These are not legal rules.
Maternity services should only say no to your requests if they can’t safely give you the care you want. Any decisions should be made based on your personal situation and they should explain the reasons to you as to why they cannot meet your care requests.
They cannot say their policies and rules say no as a sole justification for not meeting your request.
If you are not being listened to or your wants aren’t being respected, you can ask to speak to the Head of Midwifery or contact Birthrights UK for additional advice.
4. You have the right to have all your basic needs met.
If in hospital, you should have access to all your basic needs such as food, water, pain relief, and access to a toilet. You should always be taken seriously when you ask for help or care.
Although you might be told different, you are allowed to eat during labour although they may advise against it.
If you ask for pain relief, you should always be given it unless there is a good reason for saying no. If there is a reason to refuse, your doctor or midwife should explain the reason to you and record your discussion.
If you aren’t being listened to, you have the option to speak to a senior midwife or another doctor on the ward.
You also have the right to ask for an NHS staff member’s PIN if you want to make a complaint.
5. You have the right to be supported and together as a family.
You have the right to choose where and how you give birth and who is with you.
Hospitals and birth centres may have policies about how many people can be with you. They don’t usually allow children to say with you. They are policies but they are not legal. You can speak to the head of midwifery if you are worried or feel you need special circumstances to be considered.
You also can tell your midwife if there is anyone you do not wish to see during your labour or after you have had your baby.
6. You have the right to complain.
You have the right to be treated with dignity and respect. If you have any concerns over your care during pregnancy or birth, you can speak to your midwife, doctor or the Head of Midwifery at your local trust.
If you are not happy with their response or feel it wasn’t sufficient enough, you can contact the Ombudsman.
7. You have the right to receive care.
If you are ‘ordinarily’ a resident in the UK, you are entitled to NHS treatment. If you aren’t ordinarily a resident, you may need to pay for care.
Even if you need to pay for your care, but cannot afford it, you should still be given maternity care. You should never be told you need to wait for care until you can pay.
Deciphering who has to pay can be complex. If you are worried about needing to pay, Maternity Action can help.
8. The right to choose your midwife or doctor.
Although continuity of care can’t always be guaranteed, you do have the right to receive care from who you feel most comfortable with.
If a medical professional ever makes you feel uncomfortable or you can request to not receive care from that person anymore.
9. The right to see your maternity records
You can ask to see your maternity or medical records at any point to what notes are being kept about you or to keep track of your journey and progression.
10. You have the right to give consent and take away consent
You need to give consent for any medical treatment. You can change your mind at any point or refuse treatment even if doctors feel like it is in your or your babies best interest.
No one should pressure you to back on any decisions you’ve made for yourself, pressure you to change your mind or override your decision.