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Midwives experiences of meeting pregnant women who are exposed to Intimate-Partner Violence at in-hospital prenatal ward : A qualitative study

Finnbogadóttir, Hafrún LU ; Torkelsson, Ella ; Christensen, Cecilia B. and Persson, Eva Kristina LU (2020) In European Journal of Midwifery 4(September).
Abstract

INTRODUCTION Worldwide every third women is exposed to physical and/or sexual violence and pregnancy is no safe period for the women. The aim was to elucidate midwives experience of violence-exposed pregnant women who had been referred to a prenatal ward and were hospitalized. METHODS An inductive qualitative method was used with four focus-group interviews performed with sixteen midwives working at in-hospital prenatal ward. The data were analyzed with content analysis. RESULTS Three categories emerged. ‘Professional area of responsibility’, the midwives working at in-hospital prenatal ward considered it was the responsibility of the midwives working at antenatal care to ask routinely in order to detect violence-exposed women. Signs of... (More)

INTRODUCTION Worldwide every third women is exposed to physical and/or sexual violence and pregnancy is no safe period for the women. The aim was to elucidate midwives experience of violence-exposed pregnant women who had been referred to a prenatal ward and were hospitalized. METHODS An inductive qualitative method was used with four focus-group interviews performed with sixteen midwives working at in-hospital prenatal ward. The data were analyzed with content analysis. RESULTS Three categories emerged. ‘Professional area of responsibility’, the midwives working at in-hospital prenatal ward considered it was the responsibility of the midwives working at antenatal care to ask routinely in order to detect violence-exposed women. Signs of help-seeking were based on the pregnant woman’s behavior. Suspicion of intimate-partner violence was based on gut feeling. ‘Conditions for support’, the midwives strived to support pregnant women who were already identified as violence-exposed or if they had a suspicion that the pregnant woman was in a relationship where intimatepartner violence occurred. ‘Barriers for giving support’, both the work-place layout and routines constituted a barrier. The midwives own emotional state could affect her handling of the situation. CONCLUSIONS The midwives working in-hospital considered it the responsibility of the midwives at antenatal healthcare to identify these women. The midwives had limited experience in dealing with violence-exposed pregnant women but recognized a number of signs and symptoms that could cause suspicion.

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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
antenatal care, content analysis, focus-group interviews, in-hospital prenatal ward, intimate-partner violence, pregnancy
in
European Journal of Midwifery
volume
4
issue
September
article number
35
publisher
European Publishing
external identifiers
  • scopus:85149620269
ISSN
2585-2906
DOI
10.18332/ejm/125941
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f49f4017-44fa-433d-8985-33970ec6e439
date added to LUP
2023-04-04 11:38:27
date last changed
2023-04-04 11:38:27
@article{f49f4017-44fa-433d-8985-33970ec6e439,
  abstract     = {{<p>INTRODUCTION Worldwide every third women is exposed to physical and/or sexual violence and pregnancy is no safe period for the women. The aim was to elucidate midwives experience of violence-exposed pregnant women who had been referred to a prenatal ward and were hospitalized. METHODS An inductive qualitative method was used with four focus-group interviews performed with sixteen midwives working at in-hospital prenatal ward. The data were analyzed with content analysis. RESULTS Three categories emerged. ‘Professional area of responsibility’, the midwives working at in-hospital prenatal ward considered it was the responsibility of the midwives working at antenatal care to ask routinely in order to detect violence-exposed women. Signs of help-seeking were based on the pregnant woman’s behavior. Suspicion of intimate-partner violence was based on gut feeling. ‘Conditions for support’, the midwives strived to support pregnant women who were already identified as violence-exposed or if they had a suspicion that the pregnant woman was in a relationship where intimatepartner violence occurred. ‘Barriers for giving support’, both the work-place layout and routines constituted a barrier. The midwives own emotional state could affect her handling of the situation. CONCLUSIONS The midwives working in-hospital considered it the responsibility of the midwives at antenatal healthcare to identify these women. The midwives had limited experience in dealing with violence-exposed pregnant women but recognized a number of signs and symptoms that could cause suspicion.</p>}},
  author       = {{Finnbogadóttir, Hafrún and Torkelsson, Ella and Christensen, Cecilia B. and Persson, Eva Kristina}},
  issn         = {{2585-2906}},
  keywords     = {{antenatal care; content analysis; focus-group interviews; in-hospital prenatal ward; intimate-partner violence; pregnancy}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{September}},
  publisher    = {{European Publishing}},
  series       = {{European Journal of Midwifery}},
  title        = {{Midwives experiences of meeting pregnant women who are exposed to Intimate-Partner Violence at in-hospital prenatal ward : A qualitative study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.18332/ejm/125941}},
  doi          = {{10.18332/ejm/125941}},
  volume       = {{4}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}