Barriers to implementing diagnostic domestic violence screening

In the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States of America and Europe, universal and routine screening is recommended for pregnant women, extending into the postnatal period. However, the lack of self-confidence among midwives and midwifery students, in implementing diagnostic domestic violence screening, is consistent within the contemporary literature, and has significant implications for the health of women and their families.The evidence for this lack of confidence centres around three professional issues surrounding domestic violence screening from a midwifery context: time constraints; midwifery education; and midwives as recipients of domestic violence.