Reflection on obstetric violence in public health in Brazil

Abstract

Brazil has public policies to improve the quality of care for women during prenatal care and childbirth, such as the National Program for the Humanization of Childbirth and Birth (2000), the Companion Law (2005), the Stork Network (2011) and the National Guideline for Care for Pregnant Women (2015/2016). Social movements, such as the Network for the Humanization of Childbirth and Birth (ReHuNa), have made the term "humanized childbirth" accessible to the public, contributing to the dissemination of information. Common forms of obstetric violence include the Kristeller maneuver, lack of consent to perform procedures, episiotomy, refusal to administer analgesia, lack of privacy during labor, use of synthetic oxytocin to speed up labor, restriction on the choice and presence of a companion, restriction on the position of the pregnant woman, prevention of walking, restriction of water and food intake, excessive physical examinations, unnecessary and non-consensual cesarean sections, use of forceps, artificial rupture of the amniotic sac, prevention of immediate contact between mother and child, early clamping of the umbilical cord, and prevention of breastfeeding.