Midwifery students witnessing violence during labour and birth and their attitudes towards supporting normal labour: A cross-sectional survey

•Midwifery students:•observe both, midwives and physicians, perpetrating violence towards labouring women.•suffer because of their experiences with symptoms of acute and posttraumatic stress.•consider dropping out of training due to their experiences and distress.•may need access to professional support to cope with the experiences.•Low-intervention births/individual care may reduce violence towards labouring women.•Communication plays a key role in avoiding violence towards labouring women.