BACKGROUND:
Gender-based practices in healthcare often compromise women’s autonomy, particularly in systems where sociocultural norms dominate clinical decision-making. Understanding how midwifery students perceive these dynamics is critical to enhancing respectful and equitable maternity care.

OBJECTIVES:
This study aimed to explore midwifery students’ perspectives on decision-making power over women’s bodies and gender-based practices in Turkey’s healthcare system.

METHODS:
A qualitative phenomenological design was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 midwifery students selected via maximum variation sampling. Interviews, each lasting 30–45 minutes, were audio-recorded and continued until data saturation. Thematic analysis was employed.

RESULTS:
Four main themes emerged: (1) Decision-making power over women’s bodies, highlighting limited autonomy and inadequate informed consent; (2) Gender-based intervention mechanisms, illustrating how family pressure and societal norms constrain women’s agency; (3) Structural issues in the healthcare system, including poor counseling and unethical interventions; and (4) Gender-based outcomes, revealing emotional distress, reduced self-confidence, and withdrawal from care. Collectively, these themes indicate that women’s bodily autonomy is compromised at individual, institutional, and societal levels.

CONCLUSIONS:
The findings underscore significant barriers to women’s autonomy in healthcare, shaped by gender norms and systemic shortcomings. There is an urgent need for gender-sensitive healthcare delivery and for strengthening midwives’ advocacy roles in promoting informed consent and bodily rights.

KEY MESSAGE:
Midwives must be empowered as advocates to ensure informed consent and bodily autonomy in gender-equitable healthcare systems. Poster session 4 (Group B)