A study of Swedish midwives’ encounters with infibulated African women in Sweden (2002)
This study is a Descriptive research regarding All FGM/C with the following characteristics:
Author(s): Widmark,Catarina,Carol Tishelman,and Beth Maina Ahlberg
FGM/C Type(s): All
Health area of focus: None.
Objective: To investigate Swedish midwives’ perceptions and attitudes towards infibulation and infibulated women,midwives’ experiences of providing care for them and the training the midwives describe having received to enable them to care for and deliver infibulated women.
Study Population: Midwives
Findings: There were three major themes: (a) emotions and communicational challenges entailed in the care of infibulated women,(b) knowledge and skills needed for caring and (c) the midwives’ reliance on the Swedish law when dealing with the dilemmas they face in their interactions with the women and their families. The data indicate communication problems on different levels between midwives and the women and their families. There appear to be few or no guidelines in the units on how to provide good care for infibulated women and little or no co-ordination between antenatal care and the maternity wards.
Geographical coverage
Region(s):Northern Europe
Country(ies):sweden