Obstetric violence: women abused in childbirth
Obstetric violence is a much more widespread phenomenon than is believed: this is demonstrated by the data of a national research, the first in Italy on the subject, according to which as many as 21% of mothers with children aged between 0 and 14 years old would have suffered physical or verbal abuse during childbirth.
The research conducted by Doxa, but promoted by the "Observatory on obstetric violence in Italy, examined a sample of 5 million mothers between the ages of 18 and 54. The women were questioned anonymously about the modalities of childbirth and its development, as they experienced it in relation to doctors, health workers and all hospital staff, investigating treatments, communication, patients' decision-making power and respect for personal dignity.
The results of the first Italian research on obstetric violence
About one million mothers, 21% of those questioned, said they were victims of psychological or physical violence during her first birth. A direct consequence of this disconcerting news is that 6% of them, after experiencing a similar trauma, chose not to have more children, thus stopping at the first pregnancy.
Obstetric violence would therefore cause an estimated drop in the birth rate of around 20,000 fewer children in one year. A real shame for our country, but above all for the women who should have lived this wonderful experience in full protection.
What does obstetric violence consist of? The mistreatment of women during childbirth
Obstetric violence can take different forms, but in general it could be defined as an "appropriation by hospital staff of a woman's reproductive processes, damaging her dignity and creating a physical or psychological trauma for her.
For example, it can be considered obstetric violence to force a woman to give birth with her legs open by exposing her nakedness in front of several people, or not to involve her in the decision-making processes concerning childbirth. Again: it is obstetric violence to separate the mother from the child without a specific medical reason, or to attack or humiliate her verbally.
Episiotomy: the most common form of obstetric violence among abused women
More than half of the women interviewed who reported having suffered obstetric violence, referred mainly to the practice of "episiotomy, which consists of" incision of the perineum, lateral to the vagina, to widen the birth canal.
This surgical operation, once practiced frequently because it is considered useful to get the baby out faster, is now considered harmful, devoid of real benefits and actually increases the risk of damage, from infections to bleeding, and complications.
As many as 61% of women who have undergone an "episiotomy did not give informed consent and were forced to undergo it without authorization, experiencing it at best as a betrayal by the medical staff they trusted, at worst as a real one. and own genital impairment.
Obstetric violence: caesarean delivery
A large part of the women who claim to have suffered obstetric violence complain that they did not have a say in the decision-making processes concerning their birth. And this also happened with regard to the choice to proceed with a caesarean.
If only 3% of Italian women who had to resort to a caesarean section made an explicit request, 14% planned it with the doctor. The remaining percentage, on the other hand, had to undergo it. Watch this video to be well informed on the topic:
Loneliness and humiliation: when obstetric violence is psychological abuse
It must be acknowledged that 67% of the women interviewed were satisfied with the medical treatment they received. 27%, on the other hand, complained of a lack of participation by the staff, which for 6% of them became a profound sense of loneliness and abandonment. These women did not feel sufficiently followed and supported in such an important and certainly not easy moment, especially the first time.
Other sources of humiliation were the lack of privacy when requested, the prohibition of having a trusted person beside them during childbirth, being denied support (including therapeutic, such as anesthesia) in moments of greatest pain. Lack of information, especially on breastfeeding, has also been complained of as a form of violence. A really not very positive picture for what should be a completely magical and positive moment!
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