RT Journal Article
T1 Midwives' lived experiences of obstetric violence: a hermeneutic phenomenological study
A1 Antúnez Calvente, Irene
A1 Vázquez Lara, Juana María
A1 Rodríguez Díaz, Luciano
A1 Ruger Navarrete, Azahara
A1 Mérida Yáñez, Beatriz
A1 Gómez Salgado, Juan
A1 Vázquez Lara, María Dolores
A1 Riesco González, Francisco Javier
A1 Fernández Carrasco, Francisco Javier
AB Background: Obstetric violence encompasses harmful practices and care dynamics during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum that undermine women’s dignity, autonomy, and rights, and is associated with structural, gender, and organisational factors in maternity care.Objectives: To explore how midwives understand, experience, and interpret obstetric violence in delivery room settings, including its perceived causes and contextual conditions.Methods: A qualitative study based on Gadamerian hermeneutic phenomenology was conducted with ten hospital midwives from two public hospitals in Andalusia and Catalonia. Semi-structured interviews (November 2024–April 2025) were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed iteratively using ATLAS.ti, with researcher triangulation and participant validation.Results: Midwives described obstetric violence as a multifactorial phenomenon influenced  by women’s vulnerability, communication, professional practices, and healthcare system conditions. Woman-entred care, communication, and professional autonomy were identified as protective factors, while workload and institutional constraints hindered individualised care. This study contributes an underexplored midwifery perspective to a field mainly focused on women’s experiences.Conclusions: Preventing obstetric violence requires strengthening communication, informed consent, women’s participation, professional education, and organisational conditions that support respectful, woman-centred maternity care. Obstetric violence should be interpreted not only in relation to individual intent, but also in relation to its relational, structural, and experiential dimensions.
PB Taylor and Francis Group
SN 1748-2623
SN 1748-2631 (electrónico)
YR 2026
FD 2026
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/28485
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/28485
LA eng
NO Antúnez-Calvente, I., Vázquez-Lara, J. M., Rodríguez-Díaz, L., Ruger-Navarrete, A., Mérida-Yáñez, B., Gómez-Salgado, J., Vázquez-Lara, M. D., Riesco-González, F. J., & Fernández-Carrasco, F. J. (2026). Midwives’ lived experiences of obstetric violence: a hermeneutic phenomenological study. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2026.2673288
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 14 jul 2026