Obstetric Violence as an Infringement on Basic Bioethical Principles. Reflections Inspired by Focus Groups with Midwives

Júlia Martín-Badia, Noemí Obregón-Gutiérrez and Josefina Goberna-Tricas
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Júlia Martín-Badia: Department of Philosophy, University of Barcelona, 08001 Barcelona, Spain
Noemí Obregón-Gutiérrez: University Hospital Parc Taulí, Sabadell, 08208 Barcelona, Spain
Josefina Goberna-Tricas: Department of Public Health, Mental Health and Perinatal Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, ADHUC–Research Center for Theory, Gender and Sexuality, University of Barcelona, 08907 Barcelona, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 23, 1-15

Abstract: Background: obstetric violence is still far too invisible; the word “violence” generates rejection and obstetric violence is complex to define and typify, as it is a subjective experience. It has been widely analyzed from legal, sociological, and clinical perspectives, but not equally so from the bioethical point of view. This article sets out to take a more in-depth look at the experiences of midwives in order to describe the ethical perspectives of obstetric violence. We intend to describe the effects that malpractice and violence within obstetric care have on American and European bioethical principles. Methodology: A qualitative methodology of the phenomenological tradition was used: 24 midwives participated in three focus groups. Results and Discussion: four categories were arrived at; they are “the maleficence of forgetting my vulnerability”, “beneficence requires respect for my integrity and dignity”, “my autonomy is being removed from me” and “a problem of social justice towards us, women”. Conclusion: obstetric violence infringes on the main bioethical principles (non-maleficence, beneficence, autonomy, justice, vulnerability, dignity, and integrity). Beyond whether it is called violence or not, what matters from an ethical perspective is that, as long as women have such negative experiences during pregnancy and childbirth, obstetric care needs better humanizing.

Keywords: obstetric violence; women; childbirth care; malpractice; bioethics; ethical aspects; midwives; humanization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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