by Ibone Olza, perinatal psychiatrist. Dear patient, Thinking about you, I realize you might be a mother who has been separated from her infant. Or perhaps a father. I know of some cases where both, mother and father, are going through coronavirus infection, isolated, without their newborn. Maybe mother is in the hospital, alone, and…
by Ibone Olza, perinatal psychiatrist. Dear pregnant mother, Several close Friends have asked me to write this letter to you. Perhaps you are surprised that I call you “mother” if you are expecting your first child, but the truth is, I believe we are mothers from the moment we accept carrying a baby inside…
Postpartum should not be a time of battle. It should be a time of wellbeing, of enjoying your hard-earned, beautiful postpartum – a time of mothering with pleasure, to lessen the print of these scary times we are forced to live, by kissing, holding, hugging, loving your baby and being together hours on end. By Esther…
Perinatal health experts warn of the harmful effects of separating infants from their mothers, whether they are infected with COVID19 or not – separation is an unnecessary measure which at this moment is unadvised by the WHO in lieu of current evidence. One of the most painful realities this pandemic is bringing about is…
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory tract infection caused by a newly emergent coronavirus, that was first recognized in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. While most people with COVID-19 develop only mild or uncomplicated illness, approximately 14% develop severe disease that requires hospitalization and oxygen support, and 5% require admission to an intensive care…
Birth Activism and Obstetric Violence: Interview with Ibone Olza by Elena Skoko I met Ibone at my first meeting of the COST Action BIRTH in Lancaster (UK) in 2015, as part of this European research project where researchers, policymakers, and activists work together to produce and disseminate scientific literature on the topic of normal or…
Maternity is a time of deep transformation, both of the brain and of the psyche, and of course a physical feat of strength. This makes postpartum an intense path to travel, one that is better tread in the company of other women. And this is not simply something women crave: more and more scientific evidence…
Official statement addressed to leading Spanish institutions in the field of health and equality Madrid, February 17th, 2020 From the association El Parto es Nuestro and other associations working for the improvement of maternity care, we want to warn of the current dangers of judicialization and criminalisation of childbirth in Spain. This…
Fear of childbirth (FOC), also referred to as tokophobia, is related to feelings of limited capability in the face of childbirth and affects the pregnant woman’s quality of life. It is more common in nulliparous women but can also be related to earlier traumatic birth experiences. A new study, recenlty published in the Journal of…
by Ibone Olza, MD, PhD I met Cheryl Beck in 2010 in Pittsburgh, at the Marcé International Conference. I had been reading her groundbreaking and brave research on birth trauma for years. One of her publications begins with this potent sentence: “My child was conceived in love and born by rape.” The Anniversary…
