Obstetric Violence

A nursing reflection

Abstract

In recent years, Portugal has experienced a sharp decline in birth rates, associated with the increasing medicalization of childbirth.
This poses challenges to the humanization of maternal healthcare.
Women increasingly seek safe births that respect their choices and expectations.
The importance of indicators such as maternal satisfaction and the presence of a companion is highlighted.

Objective: To reflect on the concept of obstetric violence, identifying indicators of its incidence in healthcare institutions.

Method: Literature review using the EBSCO HOST platform and Google Scholar, as well as the exploration of websites of professional and user associations, legislation, and guidelines from reference entities.

Results: Obstetric violence is essentially defined as an obstacle to the autonomy and freedom of the woman over her own body, being associated with the practice of interventions carried out without the woman’s consent during labor.

Conclusion: Obstetric violence is not defined by reference entities such as the Directorate-General of Health (DGS) or the World Health Organization (WHO), leaving scientific evidence as the basis for its definition. There is an urgent need to collect and analyze new indicators, such as women’s satisfaction with their childbirth experience and the presence of a companion, in order to assess the prevalence of this issue in healthcare institutions.