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

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. They felt uncomfortable in the situation and expressed a need for both education and an action plan.