Translation of "Choc pendant ou après le travail et l'accouchement " (French → English) :

D. whereas, as well as being in itself a violation of human rights, female genital mutilation causes very serious and irreparable injuries in the short and long term to the physical and mental health and rights of the women and girls who undergo it, constituting a grave assault on their person and integrity, and in some cases can even be fatal; whereas the use of rudimentary instruments and the lack of antiseptic precautions have further harmful effects, such that sexual intercourse and childbirth may become painful, the affected organs are irreparably damaged and there may be complications such as haemorrhaging, shock, infection, transmi ...[+++]ssion of the AIDS virus, tetanus, benign tumours and serious complications affecting pregnancy and childbirth;

I. whereas FGM causes very serious and irreparable injuries in the short and long term to the physical and mental health of the women and girls who undergo it, constituting a grave assault on their person and integrity and in some cases can even be fatal; whereas the use of rudimentary instruments and the absence of antiseptic precautions have further harmful effects so that sexual intercourse and childbirth may become painful, the organs are irreparably damaged and there may be complications such as haemorrhaging, shock, infection, transmission of the AIDS virus, tetanus, benign tumours and serious complications affecting pregnancy an ...[+++]d childbirth,

J. whereas women are particularly vulnerable during pregnancy or childbirth because of several forms of discrimination, including disparities between men and women in the household, traditional practices that are harmful to women, violence against women and rejection of female babies; whereas the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which all EU Member States have ratified, states that governments must work actively to 'modify social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women' and sp ...[+++]ecifically 'ensure to women appropriate services in connection with pregnancy, confinement and the post-natal period',

Thus, one third of all pregnancies are neither desired nor planned; half of all mothers giving birth world-wide are not assisted by a trained midwife and over 3 million children annually die from complications that arise during or immediately after delivery.

Since pregnancy is a dynamic state involving continuous changes and developments, the same working conditions may raise different health and safety issues for different women at different stages of pregnancy, and again on returning to work after childbirth or whilst breastfeeding.

Furthermore, not only during the various stages of a pregnancy but also after delivery, different risks can affect a woman and her unborn or new-born child to a varying extent.