A Potential Risk Factor In Birth Stress And Fear: Obstetric Violence

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effects of obstetric violence on birth stress and fear experienced by women in labor. Methods: The literature search was conducted by examining Google Scholar, Cochrane, Pubmed, Web of Science, Science Direct, Medline databases. Studies conducted between 2015-2024 were included in the study. The keywords in Turkish were determined as “obstetric violence”, “birth”, “fear of birth”, “midwifery” and “stress”. In English; “obstetric violence”, “birth”, “delivery”, “labor”, “fear of birth”, “midwifery” and “stress”. Results: Women who do not receive respectful care during childbirth may be more vulnerable to negative encounters within the health system. Such negative encounters can lead to a lack of trust in healthcare professionals, stress and fear of childbirth, and may lead women to avoid medical intervention altogether or avoid becoming pregnant. It has been concluded that women with reduced fear of childbirth have decreased labor pain, birth complications, labor duration, traumatic stress disorder, cesarean section rate, neonatal complications, postpartum psychological problems, strengthened mother-baby relationship and breastfeeding is positively affected. Conclusion and Recommendations: This review showed that there can be serious consequences for women who experience obstetric violence, including fear of giving birth in the future, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression. The experience of traumatic birth may lead women to choose elective caesarean section (CS) for future births, potentially contributing to the high rate of CS worldwide. This topic can be included in training to prevent obstetric violence and improve the relationship between women and health professionals. Additionally, studies can be conducted to strengthen the counseling and communication skills of health professionals. It is thought that conducting various studies on the causes of obstetric violence and its role in fear of birth can guide the development of various application policies to prevent obstetric violence.