Introduction:

Obstetric violence is in the daily life of maternity hospitals and in the practice of healthcare professionals, where there is a need for humanized and ethic care.

Goal:

To analyze values expressed by the meanings of healthcare professionals about obstetric violence in the process of labor and birth.

Methods:

This is a phenomenological study, based on Max Scheler’s Values Theory, carried out with 48 healthcare professionals of four maternity hospitals in Rio de Janeiro - RJ, Brazil. The participants were recruited through convenience sampling. Data was collected between April/2017 and April/2018 by phenomenological interview and analyzed using the methodological framework of Paul Ricoeur’s Theory of Interpretation.

Results:

Some professionals were unaware or did not recognize obstetric violence, expresses itself a counter-value for health education. The scientific value points out to the possibility of re-signification of the obstetric care, as a vital-ethical value in protective practice against violence acts.

Conclusion:

Values in the vital-ethical and scientific field constitute a foundation for safe and qualified practice, being protective values in the face of obstetric violence. However, there is no appreciation for health education, which contributes to the invisibility of women and obstetric violence itself.

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