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Description
The aim of the project is to strengthen and develop the movement of local women activists Guardians of Chidbirth with Dignity, to support grassroots civic initiatives to respect human rights and prevent discrimination during childbirth and to engage women to take action for change. For many years, we have been stigmatising bad practices in perinatal care and publicising violations of laws, thanks to which the Organisational Standard for Perinatal Care as a Regulation of the Minister of Health was introduced. This document guarantees women access to the same level of services under health insurance and recognises patient rights as an important component of care. However, although the Regulation has been in force for 10 years, it is not fully respected. Outdated knowledge, routine, unwillingness to change in case of a large number of medical staff members are still preventing the implementation of modern procedures. As part of the project, we are providing training for 15 new local activists - women activists Guardians of Chidbirth with Dignity. They will be integrated into the movement of the Guardians of Chidbirth with Dignity developed by us since 2019. We support the network of the Guardians, improve their competences, provide them with tools and resources, and help them carry out local perinatal care monitoring and watchdog activities. We run an ongoing monitoring ''Voice of Mothers'' and a social action ''Voice of Mothers has the power to change'', where we encourage women to fill in surveys about perinatal care in hospitals. Based on the results of the surveys, a ranking of maternity hospitals is created. We organise local meetings for women on human rights in childbirth and run local ''I have a right to complain'' campaigns encouraging women to write complaints to hospital management. We monitor conditions, procedures and obstetric statistics in hospitals.
Summary of project results
The aim of the project was to strengthen and develop the movement of local activists - guardians of giving birth as a human being, supporting grassroots civic initiatives to respect human rights in childbirth and counteracting discrimination, and engaging women to take action for change.
The following activities were carried out as part of the project:
Two meetings were organized for the Guardians.
5 online meetings were held for the Guardians.
64 reports on perinatal care were analyzed by the Guardians.
12 local strategies for change in hospitals were developed.
The guards held 6 meetings with hospitals.
A total of 22,639 people took part in the monitoring of perinatal care "Mothers'' Voice".
308 profiles on the portal.www.gdzierodzic.info were updated.
Two campaigns on human rights in perinatal care were carried out: "Dignified Childbirth Week" and "I have the right to complain".
Thanks to the project, the group of Guardians was enlarged and the involvement of experienced activists was maintained. The guards continued their activities and supported changes in subsequent hospitals. An extensive network allows activists to operate locally under the Foundation''s wings and support each other.
Constant monitoring of the Voice of Mothers enables systematic collection of mothers'' opinions and experiences related to perinatal care. Thanks to this, areas requiring improvement are identified and effective actions are introduced to improve the quality of care. Public ranking of the best hospitals increases transparency in the healthcare sector. The management and medical staff, striving for a high position on the list, are mobilizing themselves to improve the quality of services and encourage patients to complete the Voice of Mothers survey. Featured hospitals use high positions to advertise and attract patients, which is an advantage in negotiations with the founding bodies when closing maternity wards. Interest in the ranking has increased in the local media, among future mothers and midwives.
Obtaining statistical data and information about procedures and equipment from hospitals allows us to present a comprehensive picture of the facility. The publication of this data on Głosrodzic.info presents the hospital''s offer for women. By collecting this data, the Foundation has knowledge about the facilities and can analyze the data at the provincial and national level.
3.5 thousand people participated in the Week of Dignified Childbirth. people, and medical facilities and staff got involved for the first time. In the "I have the right to complain" campaign, 549 women filed a complaint with the hospital using the complaint generator. 110 people participated in two webinars about complaints, and 24 guards were trained in the field of identifying obstetric violence. The "I have the right to complain" campaign inspired many women to share their experiences and build community, which shows how important campaigns raising awareness about perinatal rights are.