ArticlePloS one2020
Left powerless: A qualitative social media content analysis of the Dutch #breakthesilence campaign on negative and traumatic experiences of labour and birth.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Prevalence of obstetric violence in high-income countries: A systematic review of mixed studies and meta-analysis of quantitative studies.Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica · 2025Pooled it
- Information Seeking and Engagement on Social Media Among Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant Recipients and Their Families.Pediatric transplantation · 2026Article
- IUGA International Guidelines on Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injuries.International urogynecology journal · 2026Article
- Women's experiences of communication with medical staff before and after emergency caesarean birth in Zambia: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Safety and personalised care in maternity services of England for women whose preferred language is not English: a critical race theory analysis of interpreter experiences.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- When the hospital becomes an option again: a qualitative analysis of women's and their partners' experiences with a designated clinic for women who request different care than recommended in the guidelines.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Medical Interventions and Women's Perceptions of Respectful Intrapartum Care: A National Survey-Based Cohort Study.BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology · 2025Article
- Assessing women's perspective of the quality of care of the childbirth experience at a tertiary care hospital in Egypt: An application of the WHO standards-based tool.Journal of public health research · 2025Article
- "Invisible wounds of childbirth"; women's experiences of obstetric violence: a phenomenological qualitative study.Reproductive health · 2025Article
- The Undercommons of Childbirth and Their Abolitionist Ethic of Care. A Study into Obstetric Violence Among Mothers, Midwives (in Training), and Doulas.Violence against women · 2025Article
- A multi-level meta-analysis of the relationship between decision-making during birth and postpartum mental health.Health psychology and behavioral medicine · 2025Review
- Women's experiences of disrespect and abuse in Swiss facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative analysis of an open-ended question in the IMAgiNE EURO study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Reporting of Ethical Considerations in Qualitative Research Utilizing Social Media Data on Public Health Care: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Incidence of Perinatal Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Catalonia: An Observational Study of Protective and Risk Factors.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Experienced disrespect & abuse during childbirth and associated birth characteristics: a cross-sectional survey in the Netherlands.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Article
- Using social media research in health technology assessment: stakeholder perspectives and scoping review.International journal of technology assessment in health care · 2023Article
- The ethics of consent during labour and birth: episiotomies.Journal of medical ethics · 2023Article
- Methods for Analyzing the Contents of Social Media for Health Care: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Overlap between birth trauma and mistreatment: a qualitative analysis exploring American clinician perspectives on patient birth experiences.Reproductive health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
introductionDisrespect and abuse during labour and birth are increasingly reported all over the world. In 2016, a Dutch client organization initiated an online campaign, #genoeggezwegen (#breakthesilence) which encouraged women to share negative and traumatic maternity care experiences. This study aimed (1) to determine what types of disrespect and abuse were described in #genoeggezwegen and (2) to gain a more detailed understanding of these experiences.
methodsA qualitative social media content analysis was carried out in two phases. (1) A deductive coding procedure was carried out to identify types of disrespect and abuse, using Bohren et al.'s existing typology of mistreatment during childbirth. (2) A separate, inductive coding procedure was performed to gain further understanding of the data.
results438 #genoeggezwegen stories were included. Based on the typology of mistreatment during childbirth, it was found that situations of ineffective communication, loss of autonomy and lack of informed consent and confidentiality were most often described. The inductive analysis revealed five major themes: ''lack of informed consent"; ''not being taken seriously and not being listened to"; ''lack of compassion"; ''use of force"; and ''short and long term consequences". "Left powerless" was identified as an overarching theme that occurred throughout all five main themes.
conclusionThis study gives insight into the negative and traumatic maternity care experiences of Dutch women participating in the #genoeggezwegen campaign. This may indicate that disrespect and abuse during labour and birth do happen in the Netherlands, although the current study gives no insight into prevalence. The findings of this study may increase awareness amongst maternity care providers and the community of the existence of disrespect and abuse in Dutch maternity care, and encourage joint effort on improving care both individually and systemically/institutionally.
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