WERBALNA PRZEMOC POŁOŻNICZA I LEKARSKA WOBEC KOBIET RODZĄCYCH W POLSCE ZAKRES I RÓŻNORODNOŚĆ DOŚWIADCZEŃ RODZĄCYCH W UJĘCIU SOCJOLOGICZNYM
VERBAL OBSTETRIC AND MEDICAL VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN GIVING BIRTH IN POLAND. A SOCIOLOGICAL PORTRAYAL OF THE RANGE AND DIVERSITY OF EXPERIENCES AMONG THOSE GIVING BIRTH

Summary/Abstract: Childbirth is a major experience, the course and quality of which are crucialfor the mother’s development, her assumption of the maternal role, and forthe child(ren). Every year, tens of thousands of women share their childbirthexperiences in the “Mothers’ Voice” [“Głos Matek”] study conducted by theFoundation for Childbirth with Dignity [Fundacja Rodzić po Ludzku]. Thearticle presents the results of an analyses of these accounts, focusing on verbalviolence directed at women during childbirth by midwives and doctors in Polandin 2021–2022. An examination of the collected material (stories of violence)made it possible to determine who shouted at the women during labour, thelanguage used in these violent statements, and the behaviour of the women thatprovoked such reactions from midwives and doctors. The findings are interpretedthrough, among other things, the lens of Michel Foucault’s theory, comparedwith medical guidelines on the appropriate treatment of women during childbirth,and examined in relation to Polish legislation and WHO guidelines on a positivechildbirth experience.

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