DRC MIDWIVES USE NEW GROUNDBREAKING BIRTHING MODEL WITH SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

When 16-year-old Esther arrived at Panzi hospital in Bukavu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, doctors confirmed her worst fear: she was pregnant. Esther had been raped seven months earlier. Ostracized by her friends and family, she felt betrayed and alone. She said her pregnancy made her "feel dirty." Around the world, unintended pregnancies - especially those resulting from rape or coercion - are often met with stigma and judgment, despite how common it is for women's reproductive choices to be denied. Almost half of all pregnancies globally are unintended, and research indicates rape-related pregnancies are just as common, if not more so, than those resulting from consensual sex.