Research
amma helps UNFPA study respectful maternity care in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
amma helped collect data for UNFPA's regional report on respectful maternity care; its Chief Content Officer spoke at the launch webinar.
On 12 March, Olga Zamyatina, Chief Content Officer at amma pregnancy tracker, took part in a UNFPA Eastern Europe and Central Asia webinar launching the regional report “Respectful Maternity Care: Women's Experiences and Outlooks in Eastern Europe and Central Asia”. amma supported the research as one of the platforms that helped collect the data.
During the webinar, Olga said that one of the findings that surprised her most when she first read the report was that half of the women in the study had never heard the term “obstetric violence”. But when researchers explained what the term refers to in practice, the picture changed dramatically: two-thirds of the women said it had happened to them.
The finding reveals a striking gap between experience and awareness. Many women go through negative or even traumatic experiences during childbirth without realising that their rights may have been violated. amma tries to close this gap through the content it creates, helping women understand what is normal during childbirth, what is not acceptable, when it is important to ask questions and when they have the right to refuse an intervention. amma has also built a community where women can share their experiences and support each other.
Dr Tamar Khomasuridze, UNFPA Regional Sexual and Reproductive Health Adviser for Eastern Europe and Central Asia and the host of the webinar, noted amma's contribution to the research and highlighted its long-standing collaboration with UNFPA on content about sexual and reproductive health, patients' rights and medical ethics.
An app alone can't fix systemic problems in healthcare, which is why initiatives like this one by UNFPA matter. When researchers, institutions and platforms work together, it becomes easier to ensure that a woman giving birth is not only safe, but also informed, supported and treated with respect. For amma, the collaboration helps bring women's real experiences into the conversation about maternity care.
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