Women's Voices Lost in Translation

What would it feel like to navigate pregnancy and birth in a language you don't fully understand? 

After attending the Parliamentary Friends of Maternal Health event in Canberra last week, we reflect on why culturally safe, woman-centred care and access to interpreters are essential for informed choice and respectful maternity care.

Imagine you're sitting in a clinical room. A doctor is standing over you, explaining their recommendation. You're pregnant, in a country where English isn't your first language. The conversation feels overwhelming and frightening because you only understand a handful of the words being said. You hear the word "caesarean," but you don't understand the context, why it's being recommended, or what your options are.

How could you possibly give informed consent if you don't fully understand the conversation taking place around you?

This is the reality for 30% of women in Australia who are of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, seeking maternity care.

I was lucky enough to attend the Parliamentary Friends of Maternal Health event last week, where a panel of incredible women spoke about this incredibly important issue. What struck me most was just how many women who speak English as their second, third, or fourth language experience extremely difficult circumstances when navigating our maternity system. It wasn't something I'd ever really stopped to think about before.

Imagine how absolutely terrifying it would be. Birth is already one of the most vulnerable and sacred times in a woman's life, and yet you're expected to navigate a system that is already complex—even if English is your first language.

I learned that many women don't receive an interpreter, or aren't even able to express that they need one.

We heard from one of the panellists, Lizeth, who shared her experience as a Colombian woman giving birth in a foreign maternity system. Her story of language barriers, fragmented care, and being disconnected from her culture painted a picture of an incredibly isolating and demoralising experience.

Later in her pregnancy, she connected with Sharon, another panellist, a doula and President of Better Births Illawarra, who supported her through the remainder of her pregnancy and birth. Hearing how much that continuity, advocacy, and culturally safe support changed her experience was incredibly powerful.

Sharon also shared her own insights into the systemic bias and barriers that CALD women continue to face, and spoke about the work she is doing to help women navigate the system with dignity and confidence.

Finally, midwife and researcher Sital shared findings from her research at Western Sydney University, highlighting both the barriers experienced by CALD families and practical solutions that could help create a more equitable maternity system.

One common thread I noticed was how often our maternity system fails to treat women as individuals in their own right. Instead, women can be viewed primarily as vessels carrying a baby that needs to be delivered safely, rather than as people with their own values, preferences, and needs. There is too often a lack of genuine listening and respectful, individualised care that allows care to be tailored to each woman.

This session really reinforced for me that the system is not truly built around women—it is built around babies being born. While the safe birth of a baby is, of course, essential, the woman herself should not become secondary in the process. Women deserve to be seen, heard, respected, and cared for as individuals throughout their maternity journey.

​Words by Eve Moeller