'They Ignored Our Screams': Reports Reveal Horrifying Obstetric Violence and Abuse Inside Syrian Overcrowded Hospitals

Women in Aleppo say obstetric violence, neglect and degrading treatment in Syria’s overcrowded public hospitals have turned childbirth into lasting trauma as war, poverty and health-system collapse erode maternal care. (Credit: Levi Meir Clancy via Unsplash)

Nour Al-Badawi went into an Aleppo public hospital to give birth and came out needing two major operations, along with depression and anxiety that have not left her since.

Her account is one of several gathered by Inter Press Service from Syrian women who say they were physically and verbally abused, ignored and stripped of their dignity while giving birth in the country's overstretched public hospitals.