New Policies for Future Mothers

"New Policies for Future Mothers" is a project that builds on our team’s previous work as an informal collective, focused on promoting humane treatment, informed choice, and access to quality care in Bulgarian maternity wards.

Main Activities

Within the framework of the "New Policies for Future Mothers" project, the WomanUp Foundation is implementing several key activities:

• Collecting data through interviews and surveys with pregnant and birthing women across Bulgaria to identify real needs, challenges, and best practices in maternity care.

  Fill out the survey here

• Training on the rights of future mothers, aimed at raising women’s awareness of their rights during pregnancy and childbirth and supporting them in asserting those rights. Previous training sessions include:

  • Training in Sofia – Facebook Event

  • Training in Plovdiv – Facebook Event

  • Training in Varna – Facebook Event

  • Training in Burgas – Facebook Event

  • Training in Veliko Tarnovo – Facebook Event

  • Training in Stara Zagora – Facebook Event

• Needs analysis and action learning sets with medical professionals to foster understanding and exchange of experiences between patients and healthcare workers.

• Bilateral meetings between women and medical teams to build trust, encourage dialogue, and facilitate shared learning from real situations.

• Development of a proposed plan to improve conditions in maternity wards based on collected data and feedback from project participants.

Goals and Expected Results

The project aims to contribute to sustainable policies and practices that ensure respect, safety, and access to information for every woman choosing to give birth in Bulgaria. Through systematic data collection and dialogue among all stakeholders, "New Policies for Future Mothers" seeks to provide specific recommendations for improving the health system and fostering more respectful attitudes toward women in maternity care.

How to Get Involved

If you are pregnant or have recently given birth, you can share your experience and opinions through our survey: Fill out the survey here

More

Follow the WomanUp Foundation's channels for news, training, and events related to the "New Policies for Future Mothers" project. Together, we can make maternity care in Bulgaria more humane, informed, and fair.

This project is funded by the Bulgarian Fund for Women (Strong Program) and the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the BWF, the EU, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, or the European Commission. Neither the BWF, the EU, nor the European Commission and its institutions can be held responsible for the content.