The Experience of Obstetric Nurses in Caring for Families with Female Genital Mutilation: a Scoping Review

Abstract

Introduction
The World Health Organization (WHO) points out that more than 200 million women have been subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and that around 3 million are at risk worldwide. Portugal was considered a country at risk, from January 2018 to December 2021, 426 cases of FGM were registered in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region. The Obstetric Nurse plays an important role in eliminating FGM through identification, signaling and prevention.

Objective
Map the scientific evidence on the experiences of Obstetric Nurses in caring for families/women with Female Genital Mutilation.

Methods
The scoping review follows the guidelines issued by the Joana Briggs Institute (JBI) The search was carried out in the CINAHL Ultimate ®, MEDLINE Ultimate ® databases, in October and November 2023 and in the Open Access Repositories of Portugal. All types of studies were included, without language limitations in the last ten years, to answer the question: What are the experiences of Obstetric Nurses in caring for families with Female Genital Mutilation?

Results
20 articles were identified, after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 1 article was eligible for analysis.
Obstetric Nurses demonstrate skills in caring for women/families with FGM, needing to strengthen their confidence and knowledge. They describe language adequacy as the main difficulties; the recognition and identification of the types of FGM and the signaling of these women.

Conclusion
FGM covers the entire family, evidence tells us that partners can play a preventive role, preventing the continuation of this violence in their daughters. The Obstetric Nurse demonstrates skills to care for these families and communities at risk.