1.79 million women in South Africa faced mistreatment during childbirth
UA.NEWS15
September
2026
05:36
In South Africa, according to a survey on obstetric violence, around 1.79 million women experienced mistreatment by medical workers during childbirth in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng over the past 10 years. This accounts for 60% of all women who gave birth in these two provinces during that period, TimesLIVE reports.
Survey findings
The study was conducted by Social Surveys Africa on behalf of DG Murray Trust and the Embrace organization. It concerned physical, emotional and verbal abuse during childbirth. Cases described by respondents included slapping, shouting, rough examinations and being ignored.
Only one in three women who experienced such treatment realized that the behavior of medical workers was inappropriate. Seven percent of those affected reported the incident. According to the article’s authors, an average of 817 births per day took place in these provinces over the decade, and women faced disrespectful treatment in 490 cases.
On average, each affected woman may have experienced around four episodes of abuse. The article’s authors estimated the total number of such episodes at more than 7.7 million over 10 years.
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Procedures and childbirth conditions
More than a third of respondents said that medical procedures were performed without prior consent or after pressure from staff. In approximately four out of 10 such cases, this involved an episiotomy — an incision of the perineum. The World Health Organization and South Africa’s health department state that this procedure should not be a standard choice during childbirth.
Seventy-five percent of survey participants also reported that they were not allowed to have a companion during childbirth, while four in 10 said there were no curtains separating them from other patients. The right to have a companion present is provided for in national maternal care guidelines, but Embrace representative Julie Mentor said there was resistance to this practice in maternity wards.
South Africa’s health department plans to launch an online course on respectful maternal care on the Knowledge Hub platform on September 22. The course will consist of three video lessons and will last about three and a half hours. The department is considering making it mandatory for all workers who work with pregnant women.
