Why Listening is the Most Powerful Tool in Maternal Healthcare

There’s no room for assumption in reproductive and maternal healthcare. Decisions about birth, fertility, contraception, and pregnancy are too complex, too personal, and too impactful for implied consent to have a place. Yet, many women still find themselves in clinical settings where their choices are assumed rather than discussed, and where they are spoken to instead of spoken with.

Informed consent isn’t a formality—it’s the foundation of ethical care. It requires full transparency, space to ask questions, and the freedom to say no. When women are empowered to make decisions based on clear information and mutual trust, care improves across the board.

Too often, though, ego gets in the way. The “God complex” still lives on in healthcare—when providers act with unchecked authority and make decisions based on fear, control, or outdated hierarchies. This leads to bad outcomes: women feeling unheard, unnecessary interventions, and loss of trust that sometimes lasts for years.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. A simple mindset shift—seeing the patient as a teammate, not a subordinate—can transform the entire care experience. Shared decision-making allows a clinician to bring their knowledge and training, and the patient to bring their unique insight and values. Together, they choose a way forward.

This isn’t about weakening medical authority. It’s about using that authority with wisdom and humility. It’s about building trust, protecting autonomy, and restoring the respect every patient deserves.