Impacts of obstetric violence in Brazil: A literature review

Abstract

Obstetric violence (VO) is considered a global public health problem, and can be defined as any practice against the sexual and reproductive health of women, and can also be considered an appropriation of the female body, characterized by dehumanized treatment, in which its main characterizations are: physical, psychological and sexual violence. The VO is still little perceived and supported by the law if compared to other forms of violence against women, and the discussions on the subject are relevant. Thus, the objective of this work is to discuss the effects of obstetric violence, seeking to give visibility, sensitize and encourage the prevention of this violence that is part of the Brazilian reality. For this, the work was carried out through bibliographic research of exploratory descriptive character, characterized by a review of references already analyzed and published. The following databases were used: Google Scholar, Scopus, and Scielo, using the keywords: "obstetric violence", "Brazil", "childbirth", "pregnancy", "humanized delivery", and "obstetric violation" and their combinations. Obstetric violence represents an impasse in the realization of the fullness of women's rights since it is perceived as an increasingly common situation in their daily lives, whether in prenatal, childbirth, postpartum, or abortion situations. More robust, interdisciplinary, and translational research is needed to help policymakers, maternity care providers, women, and families accessing maternity services better understand, define, and address this phenomenon.