To Use or Not to Use the Term “Obstetric Violence”: Commentary on the Article by Swartz and Lappeman

Lévesque, Sylvie; Ferron-Parayre, Audrey

doi:10.1177/1077801221996456

Cited by 25 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Midwives are under excessive pressure to produce successful deliveries and are blamed for all negative birth outcomes. The healthcare system in many parts of the world has been subjected to the 'pressures of performance and efficiency' which has led to stress and burnout with negative consequences on obstetric care delivery [36,41,51] (p. 08). The Ghanaian context, however, is particularly peculiar due to the strict sanctions attached to negative birth outcomes: termination of midwifery licenses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“We Beat Them to Help Them Push”: Midwives’ Perceptions on Obstetric Violence in the Ashante and Western Regions of Ghana

Yalley

2022

Women

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Obstetric violence has been recognized as a major impediment to facility-based delivery, increasing the risk of preventable complications and maternal mortality. In Ghana, studies on women’s birth experiences reveal enormous and brutal acts of violence during delivery; however, inquiries into why midwives abuse women have not been extensively studied. This study explored the perspectives of midwives on the drivers of obstetric violence in the Western and Ashante Regions of Ghana. A qualitative study was conducted involving 30 in-depth interviews with midwives in eight health facilities. The data were analyzed thematically using NVivo 12. The results of the study reveal a normalization of violence in the delivery room and the intensity of violence is heightened during the second stage of labor. Midwives reported perpetrating or witnessing physical violence, abandonment of women, stigmatization of HIV women, verbal abuses such as shouting, and the detention of women in the health facilities. Midwives abuse women as a result of the pressures of the midwifery profession, poor maternal efforts of women, disrespect of midwives, women’s disobedience, and uncooperative attitudes. The culture of acceptability of obstetric violence is a major driver, contributing to its normalization. Midwives do not consider obstetric violence as abuse, but rather, as a delivery strategy which aids a successful delivery. It is therefore justified and viewed as a necessary part of the delivery process. There is a critical need for retraining midwives on alternative birthing strategies devoid of violence.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“We Beat Them to Help Them Push”: Midwives’ Perceptions on Obstetric Violence in the Ashante and Western Regions of Ghana

Yalley

2022

Women

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“…Midwives are under excessive pressure to produce successful deliveries and are blamed for all negative birth outcomes. The healthcare system in many parts of the world has been subjected to the 'pressures of performance and efficiency' which has led to stress and burnout with negative consequences on obstetric care delivery [33,38,48]. The Ghanaian context, however, is particularly peculiar due to the strict sanctions attached to negative birth outcomes-termination of midwifery licenses.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“We Beat them to Help them Push”: Exploring Midwives’ Perspectives on Obstetric Violence in Ghana

Yalley¹

2022

Preprint

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Obstetric violence has been recognized as a major impediment to facility-based delivery, increasing the risk of preventable complications and maternal mortality. In Ghana, studies on women’s birth experiences reveal enormous and brutal acts of violence during delivery; but inquiries into why midwives abuse women have largely been unexplored. This study explored the perspectives of midwives on the drivers of obstetric violence in the Western and Ashante Regions of Ghana. A qualitative study was conducted involving 30 in-depth interviews with midwives in eight health facilities. The data were analyzed thematically using NVivo 12. The results of the study reveal a normalization of violence in the delivery room and the intensity of violence is heightened during the second stage of labor. Midwives reported perpetrating or witnessing physical violence, abandonment of women, stigmatization of HIV women, verbal abuses such as shouting, and the detention of women in the health facilities. Obstetric violence occurs as a result of the pressures of the midwifery profession, poor maternal efforts of women, disrespect of midwives, women’s disobedience, and uncooperative attitudes. The culture of acceptability of obstetric violence is a major driver, contributing to its normalization. Midwives do not consider obstetric violence as abuse, but rather, as a delivery strategy which aids a successful delivery. It is therefore justified and viewed as a necessary part of the delivery process. There is a critical need for retraining midwives on alternative birthing strategies devoid of violence.

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“…[21,24,32] Or, en contexte de violence, la notion d'intention ne devrait pas être une caractéristique centrale à la conceptualisation de ces comportements, puisque les plus récentes dé nitions de la violence s'entendent pour inscrire le vécu et les conséquences réelles ou potentielles des personnes victimes au centre de cette conceptualisation. [33,34] À la di érence des résultats de Littleton et al [22] qui révélaient que les femmes ayant subi de la violence sexuelle avaient des soucis à rendre intelligible l'expérience vécue, nos participantes ont toutes été en mesure de décrire les manifestations de la CR qu'elles ont vécues. La temporalité de ce processus de reconnaissance est aussi un facteur important rapporté par les participantes.…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

La paradoxalité de la reconnaissance de l’expérience de coercition reproductive : une analyse qualitative

Bujold

Lévesque²

2022

aporia

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La coercition reproductive fait référence aux comportements de contrôle et de force infligés afin d'orienter la trajectoire reproductive des femmes. Les conséquences inhérentes sont multiples : grossesses inopportunes, recours accentué aux contraceptifs d’urgence et avortements, dépression.... Malgré ces effets importants, les femmes qui en sont victimes éprouvent souvent de la difficulté à reconnaitre leur expérience comme telle, ce qui contribue à limiter leur recherche de soutien. À travers la théorie du parcours de vie, cette analyse qualitative réalisée auprès de 13 femmes ayant vécu de la coercition reproductive présente comment la reconnaissance d'une telle expérience se déploie à l'intersection de diverses trajectoires de vie. Nos résultats suggèrent que le processus de reconnaissance est intrinsèquement paradoxal, et revêt un caractère à la fois subjectif, intersubjectif, sociohistorique et évolutif. Contrastant nos résultats avec la reconnaissance honnéthienne, des pistes critiques sont formulées en ce qui concerne notamment le déficit de ressources herméneutiques.

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To Use or Not to Use the Term “Obstetric Violence”: Commentary on the Article by Swartz and Lappeman

Cited by 25 publications

References 13 publications

“We Beat Them to Help Them Push”: Midwives’ Perceptions on Obstetric Violence in the Ashante and Western Regions of Ghana

“We Beat Them to Help Them Push”: Midwives’ Perceptions on Obstetric Violence in the Ashante and Western Regions of Ghana

“We Beat them to Help them Push”: Exploring Midwives’ Perspectives on Obstetric Violence in Ghana

La paradoxalité de la reconnaissance de l’expérience de coercition reproductive : une analyse qualitative

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