The Spanish Society Of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (S.E.G.O) publishes a comic strip in their newsletter illustrated by a fellow doctor which depicts a highly offensive images of women.
In the strip women are depicted as illiterate, fat, ugly, or too old. The figure of the doctor is always male and they joke about women with uterine prolapses, laugh at international experts on non interventionist labour and at women who have taken the time to become informed about birth, and even portray a woman with revealing clothes telling two less attractive women that her gynecologist does her smear test every three months, implying a sexual interest on the part of the gynecologist.
You can see the comic strip here:
The Spanish organisation El Parto es Nuestro which acts as a watchdog for the rights of women and their families in childbirth has issued a statement and press note.
There is a campaign group created on Facebook and several letters have been sent all morning to authorities and the Spanish and international press.
I and many others feel that this is not only an insult to women, their families and birth in general, but to birthing professionals around the world.
We are asking the S.E.G.O to withdraw the comic strip and to start an internal campaign to make their staff aware of the effect of inhumane medical practices during childbirth and to understand the reality of postnatal post traumatic stress disorder.
Please show your solidarity by raising awareness on this issue and forwarding this email to whoever you consider appropriate.
If you prefer, you can send me an statement and I will forward it to the S.E.G.O
Thank you
Kind Regards
Jesusa Ricoy-Olariaga
Childbirth Educator
Birth Crisis volunteer
Doula
jesusaricoy@gmail.com