Obstetric Violence from a Midwife Perspective

Juan Miguel Martínez-Galiano, Julián Rodríguez-Almagro (), Ana Rubio-Álvarez, Inmaculada Ortiz-Esquinas, Ana Ballesta-Castillejos and Antonio Hernández-Martínez
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Juan Miguel Martínez-Galiano: Nursing Department, University of Jaen, 23071 Jaen, Spain
Julián Rodríguez-Almagro: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Ciudad Real Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
Ana Rubio-Álvarez: Hospital Universitario de Torrejon, 28850 Madrid, Spain
Inmaculada Ortiz-Esquinas: Hospial Universitario Reina Sofia, 14004 Cordoba, Spain
Ana Ballesta-Castillejos: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Albacete Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 02008 Albacete, Spain
Antonio Hernández-Martínez: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Ciudad Real Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 6, 1-13

Abstract: This study examines and determines the prevalence of obstetric violence (OV) as perceived by midwives, as well as their knowledge of it and the professional factors that could be associated with the perception of OV. A cross-sectional study was conducted of 325 midwives in 2021 in Spain. Almost all (92.6%, 301) the midwives knew the term OV, but 74.8% (214) did not believe OV to be the same as malpractice. Moreover, 56.9% (185) stated they had rarely observed OV, and 26.5% (86) regularly observed OV. Most midwives consider physical aggression to be OV, in comparison, not providing information to women was only considered unacceptable treatment. The clinical practice considered the most grave within the context of OV was an instrumental birth or cesarean section without clinical justification. In addition, 97.5% (317) believed that raising awareness on the subject is one of the fundamental points to reducing this problem. Certain factors, such as less work experience, female gender, attendance at home births, and previous training in OV, were associated with an increased perception of situations as OV ( p < 0.005). A high percentage of midwives perceived specific clinical practices (e.g., indicate cesarean section without clinical justification or perform the Kristeller maneuver) as OV, and certain characteristics of the professional profile, such as the professional experience or the sex of the midwife, were associated with an increased perception of OV. Most midwives knew the term OV but did not consider that it could pertain to some behaviors included in the international definitions of OV, such as the lack of information provided to a woman or the non-identification of the midwife, among others.

Keywords: obstetric violence; inadequate treatment; midwives; childbirth; human rights (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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