Abstract
Background
Obstetric violence appears to be a worldwide concern and is defined as a type of gender-based
violence perpetrated by health professionals. This violence undermines and harms women’s
autonomy. In Spain, 38.3 % of women have identified themselves as victims of this
type of violence.
Aim
To explore current information and knowledge about obstetric violence within the Spanish
healthcare context, as well as to develop a theoretical model to explain the concept
of obstetric violence, based on the experiences of healthcare professionals (midwives,
registered nurses, gynaecologists and paediatricians) and nursing students.
Methods
A constructivist grounded theory study was conducted at Jaume I University in Spain
between May and July 2021, including concurrent data collection and interpretation
through constant comparison analysis. An inductive analysis was carried out using
the ATLAS.ti 9.0 software to organise and analyse the data.
Results
Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted, which revealed that healthcare professionals
and students considered obstetric violence a violation of human rights and a serious
public health issue. The interviews allowed them to describe certain characteristics
and propose preventive strategies. Three main categories were identified from the
data analysis: (i) characteristics of obstetric violence in the daily routine, (ii)
defining the problem of obstetric violence and (iii) strategies for addressing obstetric
violence. Participants identified obstetric violence as structural gender-based violence
and emphasised the importance of understanding its characteristics. Our results indicate
how participants’ experiences influence their process of connecting new information
to prior knowledge, and they provide a connection to specific micro- and macro-level
strategic plans.
Discussion
Despite the lack of consensus, this study resonates with the established principles
of women and childbirth care, but also generates a new theoretical model for healthcare
students and professionals to identify and manage obstetric violence based on contextual
factors. The term ‘obstetric violence’ offers a distinct contribution to the growing
awareness of violence against women, helps to regulate it through national policy
and legislation, and involves both structural and interpersonal gender-based abuse,
rather than assigning blame only to care providers.
Conclusions
Obstetric violence is the most accurate term to describe disrespect and mistreatment
as forms of interpersonal and structural violence that contribute to gender and social
inequality, and the definition of this term contributes to the ongoing awareness of
violence against women, which may help to regulate it through national policy and
legislation.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 31, 2022
Accepted:
July 18,
2022
Received in revised form:
July 15,
2022
Received:
December 16,
2021
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
