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

Obstetric violence in the United States and other high-income countries: an integrative review

Obstetric violence has been documented throughout the world, yet this human rights issue has mostly been investigated in middle- and low-income countries where the intensity and brutality of abuse and mistreatment is more easily recognised as problematic. This integrative review aimed to analyse sources about obstetric violence in high-income countries with the objective of identifying gaps in the research, challenges to the study of obstetric violence, and solutions to framing research that meets those challenges. A systematic search was conducted using the PubMed and CINAHL databases from February to June 2022. Empirical and non-empirical sources, published in English, with no date restrictions, were retrieved. Citation searching was also done. Forty-six sources were included. Identified gaps in the research were: (a) scarce attention to obstetric violence in most high-income countries; (b) most US sources are non-scientific and from outside the healthcare disciplines; (c) inconsistencies in terminology; (d) most studies were conducted with samples of women who had given birth, with scant research about healthcare providers and obstetric violence, and (e) the association between obstetric violence and traumatic birth was under-recognised. Identified challenges to the study of obstetric violence were: (1) factors that enable and perpetuate obstetric violence are multilevel and nonlinear; (2) the phenomenon is contextually complex; and (3) blind spots from routinised harmful practices and normalised mistreatment can prevent healthcare providers and birthing people from recognising obstetric violence. A systems approach and complexity theory are guiding frameworks recommended as solutions to the challenges of studying and correcting obstetric violence.

Obstetric Violence: A Conceptual Analysis in the Nursing Context

Objective: To analyze the concept of “Obstetric violence” in the Nursing context based on identifying its antecedents, attributes, and consequences. Materials and method: It is a conceptual analysis that follows the method proposed by the Walker and Avant model, which consists of eight stages. Six stages were used to contemplate the study objective, namely: selection of the concept; delimitation of the analysis objectives; identification of different uses of the concept in the literature; determination of the essential attributes; identification of the concept’s antecedents and consequents, and definition of the concept’s empirical references. Results: The sample was comprised of 22 studies. A total of 31 antecedents were evidenced: 24 attributes for physical violence; 35 for psychological/emotional violence; 6 for institutional and sexual violence, and 5 for structural violence. Regarding the consequences, 39 elements were found. Conclusions: The study contributes to Nursing science, research, and clinical practice, providing scientific support with a deep discussion of the phenomenon and presenting the antecedents, attributes, and consequences of obstetric violence in detail. It enables Nursing professionals to recognize the empirical indicators of the concept; thus, it is likely that they will have more knowledge that will lead them to more precise Nursing care, in addition to subsidies to prevent obstetric violence.