The right to touch your toes or have a full night’s sleep may be on a pregnant pause for you, but when it comes to your fundamental human rights, your pregnancy makes no difference. Neither should Covid-19.

If you are feeling pressure to do things a certain way, aren’t getting support for your pregnancy or birth choices or have had a previously traumatic birth it can be really reassuring and empowering to know exactly what your rights are and how to ensure that they are respected. Midwives and doctors are there to support and care for you. They joined a caring profession to help protect and uplift you, though sometimes the pressures of a busy system can make it tricky. So while you shouldn’t expect a battle to ensure your rights are respected, and will likely find huge compassion and support, it is pretty empowering to know that the law is on your side that nobody can make you do anything you don’t want to and that you always have the last word in any decision.

You don’t need to be a lawyer, have a degree, be good at writing letters or giving speeches to understand and make use of this stuff. At its heart it’s about ensuring you are treated as the same reasonably rational human person you were before you were pregnant. These are just some tools to help.

So what are your most important rights in pregnancy and childbirth?

• Every woman has a right to receive safe and appropriate maternity care.

• Every woman has a right to maternity care that respects her fundamental human dignity.

• Every woman has a right to privacy and confidentiality.

• Every woman is free to make choices about her own pregnancy and childbirth, even if her caregivers do not agree with her.

• Every woman has a right to equality and freedom from discrimination.

“Your rights are protected by international and national laws, conventions and treaties”

Where do these rights come from?

Happily for all of you, you don’t have to take my word for it. Your rights are protected by international and national laws, conventions and treaties - from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to our own Human Rights Act of 1998 and many other places in between. They have been solidified by legal cases and are further set out in long-standing government policy and the professional codes of the midwives and doctors who care for you.

But what does that look like in practice and what does it mean for you?

All pregnant people will find information about their rights useful, but it can be particularly helpful when you are planning a birth after trauma. The legal framework and human rights values that underpin it mean that your caregivers must give you detailed and unbiased information about your care, listen to you, ensure you make all the decisions and that you give consent for any proposed intervention and work with you on a care plan that meets your needs. You should always be treated as an individual, your wishes accommodated wherever possible and you should have timely access to pain-relief if you request it.

You can find information about your rights in pregnancy and birth on the Birthrights website. They have a specific page dedicated to Covid-19.

Know your rights in maternity: particularly in the light of Covid-19