Can the Media and Maternal Health Advocates Work Together? This New Guide Shows You How
By Stephanie Bowen, Director of Strategic Communication, White Ribbon Alliance
Working with the media can be tricky for NGOs and advocates. The media is rightfully skeptical, insists on independence and is pulled in many directions with dwindling resources. Advocates are passionate about their cause and sometimes don’t understand why their issue isn’t getting more coverage or why coverage they do get doesn’t make the right points.
When media coverage of maternity care is sensitive and accurate, women, their newborns and care providers stand to benefit greatly. Journalists can be key players in spreading the message that every woman has a right to quality, respectful and dignified care. But when media coverage is insensitive and inaccurate, enormous damage can be done. Sensational stories of abuse and disrespect, with headlines blaming wicked midwives or nurses, can deter women from seeking the care that could save their lives and make it harder to recruit health workers and support them with the resources they need.
The stakes are high. Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) is central to the health, well-being and survival of millions of women and newborns. And there is now a growing global consensus that assuring safe, high-quality maternal and newborn care must include standards to protect the human rights and emotional security of women.
Ensuring accessible and women-centered environments free of mistreatment and abuse is essential for encouraging mothers to seek skilled medical care and ensuring high-quality, skilled care during pregnancy and labor.
How, then, do we work with the media to enable a better understanding of how closely RMC relates to maternal and newborn health, so that they will in turn provide coverage that helps rather than hinders global efforts to save the lives of pregnant women and mothers?
White Ribbon Alliance is excited to announce a new tool for NGOs and advocates working to ensure that every woman, everywhere receives respectful maternity care.
Co-authored by WRA Fellow Mary Fenton and longtime WRA advocate/former journalist Brigid McConville, we also had the input of many partners and across the Global Alliance. Our guide — available in English and Spanish — identifies barriers and offers solutions, provides tips for building productive relationships with reporters and contains dynamic exercises for effective workshops. You’ll find lots of practical examples of how to be sensitive to reporters’ needs while increasing the chances of getting the kind of coverage you want.
As a former journalist turned advocate, I hope you find this guide helpful. Together, we can create a world where all girls and women can realize their right to quality, respectful health and well-being, one story at a time.
White Ribbon Alliance unites citizens to demand the right to a safe birth for every woman, everywhere. We harness the power of local women and men to achieve lasting change. Our approach is working. Subscribe to WRA’s newsletter VOICES and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date on White Ribbon Alliance’s global maternal health campaigns.
