TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2020//
TI  - Midwives experiences of meeting pregnant women who are exposed to intimate-partner violence at in-hospital prenatal ward: a qualitative study
JO  - European journal of midwifery
A1  - Finnbogadottir, Hafrun
A1  - Torkelsson, Ella
A1  - Christensen, Cecilia B.
A1  - Persson, Eva-Kristina
SP  - e35
EP  - e35
VL  - 4
IS  - 
N2  - 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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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. <br><br>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. They felt uncomfortable in the situation and expressed a need for both education and an action plan.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2585-2906
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.18332/ejm/125941
ID  - ref1
ER  -