It is time to consider labour companionship as a human rights issue

Abstract

Commentary on: Bohren MA, Berger BO, Munthe-Kaas H, et al . Perceptions and experiences of labour companionship: a qualitative evidence synthesis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2019;3:CD012449. There is now substantial evidence that companionship during labour leads to enhanced birth outcomes for women and babies. These benefits include: increased spontaneous vaginal birth, shorter duration of labour and decreased caesarean birth, instrumental birth, use of any analgesia, use of regional analgesia, low 5 min Apgar score and negative feelings about childbirth experiences.1 The choice of companionship during labour and birth is recognised by the WHO,2 White Ribbon Alliance …