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2nd Edition of Obstetric Violence and Women's Health
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2nd Edition of Obstetric Violence and Women's Health

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Women's Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 5708

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Katarina Swahnberg

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Health and Caring Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Linnaeus University, 391 82 Kalmar, Sweden
Interests: global health; women’s health; violence against women; abuse in health care
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I am guest editing the 2nd Special Issue on “Obstetric Violence and Women’s Health” in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, a peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles and communications in the interdisciplinary area of environmental health sciences and global health. For detailed information on the journal, please visit https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph.

Obstetric violence is a particular kind of abuse in healthcare that has been reported globally. Obstetric violence is a rather new concept often focusing on childbirth (even when referring to maternal care which includes pregnancy) and overmedicalization, i.e., non-medically justified obstetric interventions. Other important components may be dehumanization and disrespectful and non-consented care, and the overall conversion of biological processes into pathological ones. The imbalance of information and power between healthcare provider and patient is an important conditional factor, but other intersecting factors on the individual as well as structural level are also crucial for the persistent occurrence of obstetric violence.

This Special Issue welcome original research and reviews from all over the world that explore obstetric violence and its prevention. We are particularly interested in studies that test interventions that target policy, systems, and clinical change. Research may be either theoretical or empirical and can include systematic reviews.

Prof. Dr. Katarina Swahnberg
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • obstetric violence
  • abuse in health care
  • structural violence
  • women’s health
  • gender
  • power
  • intervention
  • prevention
  • empowerment

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 646 KiB  
Article
Breastfeeding and Obstetric Violence during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in Spain: Maternal Perceptions
by Desirée Mena-Tudela, Susana Iglesias-Casas, Agueda Cervera-Gasch, Laura Andreu-Pejó, Victor Manuel González-Chordá and María Jesús Valero-Chillerón
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(23), 15737; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315737 - 26 Nov 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2416
Abstract
Catalan legislation, a pioneer in Europe, has defined obstetric violence (OV) as “preventing or hindering access to truthful information, necessary for autonomous and informed decision-making”. The definition also states that OV can affect physical and mental health, as well as sexual and reproductive [...] Read more.
Catalan legislation, a pioneer in Europe, has defined obstetric violence (OV) as “preventing or hindering access to truthful information, necessary for autonomous and informed decision-making”. The definition also states that OV can affect physical and mental health, as well as sexual and reproductive health. Some authors have expressed concern about an increase in OV during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. During the pandemic, recommendations were also openly offered on the non-establishment and/or early abandonment of breastfeeding without scientific evidence to support them. Experiencing a traumatic childbirth can influence breastfeeding outcomes. Here, we conducted a cross-sectional study using a self-administered online questionnaire. The sample consisted of women who gave birth in Spain between March 2020 and April 2021. The mean age was 34.41 (±4.23) years. Of the women, 73% were employed, 78.2% had a university education, and almost all were Caucasian. Among the subjects, 3.3% were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy and 1% were diagnosed during delivery. Some of the women (1.6%) were advised to stop breastfeeding in order to be vaccinated. Women diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 during delivery (p = 0.048), belonging to a low social class (p = 0.031), with secondary education (p = 0.029), or who suffered obstetric violence (p < 0.001) perceived less support and that the health care providers were less inclined to resolve doubts and difficulties about breastfeeding. Breastfeeding has been significantly challenged during the pandemic. In addition to all the variables to be considered that make breastfeeding support difficult, we now probably need to add SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis and OV. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 2nd Edition of Obstetric Violence and Women's Health)
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13 pages, 356 KiB  
Article
Obstetric Violence Is Prevalent in Routine Maternity Care: A Cross-Sectional Study of Obstetric Violence and Its Associated Factors among Pregnant Women in Sri Lanka’s Colombo District
by Dinusha Perera, Muzrif Munas, Katarina Swahnberg, Kumudu Wijewardene, Jennifer J. Infanti and on behalf of the ADVANCE Study Group
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(16), 9997; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19169997 - 13 Aug 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2822
Abstract
The phenomenon of obstetric violence has been documented widely in maternity care settings worldwide, with scholars arguing that it is a persistent, common, but preventable impediment to attaining dignified health care. However, gaps remain in understanding local expressions of the phenomenon, associations with [...] Read more.
The phenomenon of obstetric violence has been documented widely in maternity care settings worldwide, with scholars arguing that it is a persistent, common, but preventable impediment to attaining dignified health care. However, gaps remain in understanding local expressions of the phenomenon, associations with other types of violence against women, and implications for women’s trust and confidence in health providers and services. We focused on these issues in this cross-sectional study of 1314 women in Sri Lanka’s Colombo district. Specifically, in this study, we used Sinhalese and Tamil translations of the NorVold Abuse Questionnaire and the Abuse Assessment Screen to measure prevalence of women’s experiences with obstetric violence in maternity care and lifetime and pregnancy-specific domestic violence. Then, the results were interpreted by considering the women’s sociodemographic characteristics, such as age, ethnicity, and family income, to reveal previously undocumented associations between obstetric and domestic violence during pregnancy, as well as other factors associated with experiencing obstetric violence. We argue that obstetric violence is prevalent in government-sector (public) maternity care facilities in the Colombo district and is associated with young age, lower family income, non-majority ethnicity, and rural residency. Significantly, this study sheds light on a serious concern that has been underexamined, wherein women who report experiencing obstetric violence are also less likely to be asked by a health care provider about domestic violence experiences. Further research at the clinical level needs to focus on appropriate training and interventions to ensure women’s safety and cultivate relationships between patients and health care providers characterized by trust, confidence, and respect. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 2nd Edition of Obstetric Violence and Women's Health)
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