ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Obstetric violence involves a violation of reproductive rights of women during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. It has been associated with lack of empathy and emotional discomfort of physicians. OBJECTIVE: To identify the perceptions of obstetric violence and to determine the possible relationship with burnout syndrome. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We evaluated 29 physicians whose scope of work relates to obstetrics and gynecology. The evaluation instruments were: a) questionnaire on professional perception that collects demographic information, situations of perceived obstetric violence, major concerns of physicians in their professional work, and includes an scale about level of job satisfaction, b) the Maslach Burnout inventory, and c) Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy. RESULTS: The most prevalent obstetric violence situations perceived were: medical malpractice and harmful practices (10/29), discrimination (10/29), rude treatment and verbal attacks (11/29). Seventeen participants reported lack of information on obstetric violence and not have tools to cope with this problem. Regarding the burnout syndrome, it was associated with several items of the scale of empathy and with the scale of job satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the importance of providing knowledge and tools to deal with obstetric violence and stress management to prevent such situations on medical practices.
