UBA marks World Respectful Birth Week with a symposium focused on salutogenesis and the prevention of obstetric violence
May 18, 2025Roundtable on Law No. 33/2025: A Key Step in Advancing Respectful Maternity Care in Portugal
June 2, 2025IPOV Event Highlights Midwife-Led Birth Center Model in Barcelona
On May 30, 2025, from 14:30 to 16:00, a new scientific session was held as part of the international project IPOV – International Platform on Obstetric Violence, hosted by nascer.pt. The event took place at Iscte – Room B226 and was also broadcast live via Zoom.
The session was led by Ana Gutierrez, a Spanish midwife, member of the Observatorio de la Violencia Obstétrica (OVO – Spain), and long-time volunteer at the advocacy group El Parto es Nuestro. During her scientific visit to Lisbon under the IPOV framework, she presented a talk entitled:
“La importancia de cómo, dónde y con quién parir y nacer: presentación de un servicio de atención al nacimiento dirigido por matronas”
(“The Importance of How, Where and With Whom We Give Birth: Presentation of a Midwife-Led Birth Service”)
The presentation introduced Casa Laietània, a midwife-led birth center in Barcelona that offers an alternative model of perinatal care based on respect, autonomy, and physiological birth. Gutierrez highlighted how such spaces empower women and families by offering informed choices and reducing unnecessary medical interventions—an approach aligned with IPOV’s core values of salutogenic and rights-based maternity care.
This session fostered rich dialogue among healthcare professionals, students, and advocates, further strengthening the international and interdisciplinary collaboration at the heart of the IPOV initiative.
