In July 2013, Purvi Patel, stumbled into an emergency room in Indiana, blood soaking through her clothes. Prior to arriving in the hospital, Patel gave birth to a baby (though whether it was alive or not is widely disputed) and discarded its remains in a dumpster. Under pressure from her family and in a secret relationship with a coworker, Patel kept her pregnancy under wraps and made the decision to self-abort her baby. After undergoing surgery to remove the placenta, she woke up to a police officer standing guard by her bed and the news that she was being prosecuted for feticide.
In court, lawyers painted a picture of “a cold and unfeeling woman who put herself first,” dehumanizing Patel and her experiences. In their manipulation of a law meant to protect pregnant women, Indiana prosecutors sentenced Patel to 20 years in prison for the abortion of her child.
The outcome of Purvi Patel’s case demonstrates society’s harsh treatment towards pregnant women. While mothers undergo weeks of physical and mental changes over the course of nine months in addition to postpartum, the reality is that the everyday citizens and lawmakers especially lack any meaningful understanding of the implications of pregnancy, resulting in a dismissive and apathetic attitude towards mothers.
One of the most common adverse results of pregnancy is miscarriage, yet 55% of people believe that miscarriage occurs in less than 5% of pregnancies. On average, there are 23 million per year, equating to 44 per minute. Despite its prevalence, miscarriages are viewed as shameful or insignificant, placing a significant mental burden on women to simply put it in the past and appear fine. More than half of women experience symptoms of depression after losing a child prenatally, yearning for the child and searching for an explanation. Furthermore, the expectation to keep pregnancy a secret for the first trimester (after which the chance of miscarriage greatly decrease) further isolates mothers from getting the support they need and deserve. While long-term physical effects are less common, miscarriages still present the risk of cardiovascular disease and venous thromboembolism (blood clots).
So are women treated better once they give birth to a healthy baby? One would assume so, but the fact is that mothers consistently face mistreatment, even in hospitals. In Ghana, Guinea, Myanmar, and Nigeria, 42% of women experience abuse after giving birth—imagine being slapped or punched after going through 12+ hours of labor. Furthermore, physicians exercise unusual amounts of authority over women. 5% of women report being threatened with withholding of treatment or being forced to accept treatment they did not want, simply because the law or the doctor thinks it’s what is best for them. In Georgia, abortion laws forced doctors to keep a brain dead woman on life support until her baby could be delivered. The lack of respect only aggravates the issues of how women are treated during and after pregnancy.
It’s not enough to simply acknowledge and improve how mothers are treated throughout the process of labor. As mothers, they continue to face indifference and insults from society in regards to mental afflictions. 20% of women experience postpartum depression due to hormonal changes as well as the psychological adjustment to becoming a mother. Although feelings of overwhelming sadness and anxiety are not uncommon, over half of women experiencing postpartum depression will not reach out to ask for support due to the stigma surrounding the mental illness. This reluctance to reach out advances the sentiment that women can only be happy after having a child, dismissing their susceptibility to the effects of depression. The cruel stigma surrounding postpartum depression causes women to feel ashamed for their perceived weakness, despite carrying a baby for nine months and undergoing hours of labor and pain. The effects of childbirth are not confined to depression but also insecurities about body image. It is widely known that being thin and having smooth skin is desirable, but pregnancy changes all of that. From stretch marks to acne, becoming a mother is almost like going through puberty for a second time while growing another human body. Adding the anxiety of taking care of a newborn and enduring mental and physical changes, the lack of support for new moms is astounding.
Finally, pregnant women of color are more likely to endure the negative effects of a defective health care system due to systemic racism. In a 2023 study, 30% of Black women reported being mistreated while pregnant. Although faced with this mistreatment, these mothers are afraid to speak up for themselves, for fear of being labeled as “angry.” Even if providers are not aware of their bias against certain races, these stereotypes “have their origins in normal and pervasive processes associated with social categorization,” allowing them to function subconsciously. For example, the idea that Black people don’t feel as much pain as White people do has also led to doctors not administering the necessary amount of pain medication to these patients, further magnifying the gap between quality of service that people of color receive compared to white people. Furthermore, Black women are 10% more likely to face postpartum depression after loss of pregnancy, which is likely augmented by the consistently inferior service they receive from healthcare providers.
Ultimately, there is no question that the way we as a society treat pregnant women must be changed. From shaming them for not being constantly happy after childbirth to insulting and abusing them, the apathy directed towards women is astounding. Mothers go through postpartum depression and psychosis, have to accept a body they don’t recognize, and stand up for themselves, all while raising a newborn child, an incredible feat that deserves far more appreciation than it receives.