Characterizing Conditions of Obstetric Violence from a Review of Scientific Literature

Abstract

Introduction: Violence against women has a diverse nature and its characteristics are determined by culture, customs, traditions and even religious beliefs, technology and scientific-technological progress as occurs in obstetric violence.
Objective: To characterize the obstetric violence perceived by women during obstetric care.
Methods: PRISMA guidelines were followed with databases from VHL, ProQuest, Springer, PubMed, Google Scholar, SciELO, Lilacs, Gale, IBECS, Open Access, Redalyc, Science Direct, JSTOR, BMC and MDPI and Researchgate. A selection of studies on obstetric violence from the last five years was carried out, dealing with the perception of these health service users, practical forms of obstetric violence and behaviors of health personnel, among others. Twenty articles were included, which defined four themes or analytical categories: conceptualization of obstetric violence, typification of obstetric violence, routine practices and behaviors of health personnel during obstetric care, and experiences in obstetric violence.
Conclusions: Obstetric violence portrays a violation of human rights and a serious public health problem, which is presented in discriminatory and disrespectful acts practiced by health professionals and legitimized by symbolic power relations, which naturalize and trivialize its occurrence.