Reproductive health rights: a bibliometric analysis of childbirth

Abstract

Purpose Reproductive health rights became an issue of interest long before the 1990s. Several policies were created to guarantee reproductive health rights, including birth rights. Women have the right to give birth in a way that is respectful and free from obstetric violence. Policymaking must, of course, be based on empirical evidence, so it is necessary to map studies on human rights in the context of childbirth. This study aims to investigate the viewpoint on human rights during childbirth across time by using a bibliometric methodology. Design/methodology/approach Bibliometric analysis was conducted using the VOSviewer application. The analysis was sourced from 301 articles on human rights during delivery for the 1976–2023 period from the Scopus database. Findings The studies concerning reproductive health rights encompass various topics, including reproductive health policy, human rights during childbirth, child marriage and human rights, pandemics and health care related to human rights. Research limitations/implications Studies related to human rights in reproductive health (especially childbirth) must be increased. Remember, policymaking must be based on the evidence found. Apart from that, empirical information about harmful actions during childbirth must be revealed so that it becomes a concern. While there has been a significant increase in the establishment of human rights during childbirth, there is a lack of research on this topic specifically in the Asian context. Researchers might consider this to be a matter of concern, given the implications for human rights. Two themes that have citations but a small number relate to obstetric violence and respectful maternity care during childbirth, so this could be a concern for other researchers for further studies. Originality/value This paper provides an overview of the most cited topics of human rights during childbirth, contributions by the distribution of studies throughout time, distribution of studies by country, the highest number of publications and citations.