The pain behind the joy of childbirth

29.May 2025. Sanja Kljajić / DW

Episiotomy as a good day: In Serbia, women are routinely cut during childbirth

An episiotomy, a surgical incision in the perineum during childbirth, is supposed to facilitate the exit of the baby and prevent unwanted ruptures. However, for many women in Serbia and beyond, this procedure leaves deep physical and psychological scars, often performed without a clear explanation, consent, and even without adequate anesthesia.

Health care

03.July 2023 Z.S.

Who are protected by bans in Serbian maternity hospitals?

The maternity hospital in Nis has forbidden women who give birth less than two months from using mobile phones in the preparation rooms, where some women spend hours and sometimes even days. After a stormy reaction from Nišlijka, this ban was lifted, but it is still forbidden to accompany the child during childbirth. The same ban applies in most state maternity hospitals in Serbia