In the field of reproductive medicine, there is high awareness of the quality of breast milk, neonatal indicators and risk profiles. But 20 per cent of women in the province of Québec describe coercive pressure, non-consensual acts or pain ignored while breastfeeding or childbirth.

Doctors rarely take into account patients’ own understanding of their experiences, their anxiety or their ability to make decisions about their care. It’s time for medicine to treat these lived experiences as valuable evidence alongside other scientific considerations.

As a professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal and a researcher in community psychology, my work focuses on reducing social inequalities in health, on public policy in the perinatal field and on institutional reform to promote the well-being of families and professionals.

In collaboration with colleagues both at the university and in obstetrics, we recently conducted two empirical studies examining women’s experiences. Our findings show that medical practices in perinatal care, which aim to ensure the safety of mothers and children, are sometimes detrimental to their decision-making autonomy and mental health.

Two forms of knowledge

In reproductive health, medical decisions rely on different forms of scientific knowledge, although some are given more importance than others. Much of this research focuses on what the female body is expected to support, protect or optimize: fetal development, reproductive capacity and the management of risks during pregnancy and childbirth. Because these areas have received extensive research funding and clinical attention, they form the basis of most medical recommendations.

But other forms of knowledge focus on women themselves: their mental health, their ability to make decisions and their emotional experiences. Research in these areas does exist, but it is less extensive, less often used in medical decision-making and less frequently treated as a public health priority.

As a result, while there is........

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