Sofia, January 21 (BTA) - An informal maternity care network is launching a campaign aimed at turning childbirth into a positive experience. The campaign will popularize the current recommendations of the World Health Organization for uncomplicated birth so as to improve the dialogue between women and the professional community and, thus, improve the care for pregnant women and women in childbirth in Bulgaria.
The campaign was launched by the Modern Maturnity Care Network (MMCN) at a BTA-hosted news conference in Sofia on Sunday.
Obstetrics and gynecology is among the first three professions in Bulgaria for which there are penalties for doctors and legal disputes, medical lawyer Maria Sharkova said. In her words, Bulgaria's medical legislation lacks a maternity care standard, and all rules and obligations for childbirth are spread in various normative documents.
The organization recalled that last year there were several tragic cases involving healthy women dying during childbirth that caused a public debate on the quality of maternity care in Bulgaria. According to the MMCN, this debate did not achieve a tangible result and led only to a sharper tone in the dialogue between women's representatives and medical specialists. The organization believes that real change in the maternity care system can be achieved only through joint efforts and mutual understanding between the engaged specialists and women.
The MMCN sees the new campaign as the first step in a series of actions aimed at improving the environment for dialogue and introducing a contemporary maternity care standard based on scientific proof and in conformity with the recommendations of international professional organizations.