2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-FOUR - Health and Sanitation (§§ 1 — 15010) › PART VII - Hospitals, Institutions and Health Programs (§§ 3001 — 3891) › Chapter 154 - Labor, Childbirth and Post-partum Partner Act (§§ 3691 — 3696) › § 3692 - Rights of pregnant women

All pregnant women shall have the following rights at the time of labor, childbirth and post-partum:
(a) To be informed (by a certified health professional and a physician) about the different medical interventions that may be performed during the process, so that she may choose freely, when there are several alternatives.
(b) To be treated with respect and in an individual, personalized manner, thus guaranteeing privacy and emotional intimacy during the process.
(c) To natural childbirth as a first alternative, respecting her physiological, biological and psychological aspects, avoiding invasive practices and the administration of medication that is not justified by the health condition of the woman in labor or the child to be born.
(d) To be informed about the development of her labor, the general condition of her child and to be made a participant in the various actions undertaken by the assisting professionals.
(e) Not to be submitted to any examination or intervention for research or teaching purposes, unless [express] written consent is given.
(f) To be accompanied by persons she trusts and chooses to be with her during labor, childbirth and postpartum, including cesarean section, during which she may be accompanied by at least one person of her choice; being it understood, however, that the presence of the companion or companions shall not interfere with the decisions of a medical nature which are considered or made by the health professionals who are responsible during the labor process, and in the case of a cesarean section, it shall be these who shall determine, in the last instance whether to allow or not the companion to be present. Furthermore, the woman in labor shall have the right to be unaccompanied, if she so wishes. Provided, That the companion shall be bound to comply with those rules the hospital institution were to impose.
(g) Not to be intimidated about the process of childbirth if there were no risks involved. Should any complication in the process be foreseen, the woman shall be informed of the various medical interventions that could be performed during the childbirth.
(h) To keep her child in her room while they remain in the hospital, provided that the newborn does not require special care.
(i) To be informed, [during] her pregnancy, about the benefits of breastfeeding and to receive support to breastfeed, including the prohibition established in §§ 3517—3517b of this title, better known as the “An Act on the Feeding of Breast-Milk Supplements to Newborns”, on feeding the newborn with formula or any breast-milk substitute against the express instructions of the mother who decides to breastfeed her child.
(j) To receive advice and information about the personal care of the child.
(k) To be specifically informed about the benefits of good nutrition and the adverse effects of tobacco, alcohol and drug use for herself and her child.
History —Aug. 10, 2006, No. 156, § 3, eff. 6 months after Aug. 10, 2006.