The Italian validation of the Obstetric Violence Scale: Implications for the quality of the maternal bond

Background: Obstetric violence (OV) is a form of mistreatment against women during childbirth that negatively impacts women's childbirth experiences and overall well-being. It is a globally recognised phenomenon, but the lack of a shared definition and measurement questionnaire makes it difficult to understand its prevalence. Furthermore, this form of violence has been studied mainly on the consequences of women's well-being, while no attention has been paid to its relationship with the quality of the mother-infant bonding. The present study aimed to provide an Italian validation of the Obstetric Violence Scale (OVS) and to explore the relationship between OV and the quality of postnatal maternal bond, considering the role of maternal depressive symptoms in this relationship. Method: A total of 488 women (M = 34.36 ± 3.74) were recruited for validation of the OVS, and 577 (M = 34.11 ± 3.75) for testing the hypothesised model. Results: The results confirmed the psychometric robustness of the Italian version of the OVS. Furthermore, the data highlighted a relationship between the experience of OV and the quality of postnatal maternal bond, both directly and indirectly, through the role of depressive symptoms. Women who experience OV are more likely to develop depressive feelings in the postpartum period, which, in turn, affects the maternal bond with the child. Conclusions: This study is the first to highlight the relationship between OV and postnatal maternal bond quality, underlining the need for preventive policies and further longitudinal research to understand the long-term effects of OV.