In determining the essence of respectful maternal care, researchers conducted a qualitative study with Iranian midwives as their respondents. Using 24 semi-structured interviews and content analysis, three themes and seven sub-themes emerged.
The first theme defined respectful maternity care as delivering maternity care that ‘shows empathy’. This means establishing a friendly relationship with the patients to create a friendly atmosphere that helps ease the worries of women regarding their and their baby’s health status. This entails communicating with the patients in a way that can establish trust. Showing empathy in the maternal care setting also means ‘being with women’ which is to understand the unique situation of laboring women and their families and to allow the presence of a companion of their choice to help the mother have a better experience.
Next, the theme of women-centered care was also apparent during the interviews. This entails keeping women safe by eliminating unnecessary interventions without medical indication in the belief that science and ethics are interconnected. It also means providing specific care as soon as possible to safeguard the mother and her child’s health. Additionally, this theme also involves encouraging mothers to participate in decision-making by giving them access to information on the progress of their labor and the steps they can take to help themselves.
Lastly, respectful maternal care also encompasses ‘protecting rights’ according to the respondents. This implies safeguarding the dignity of the patients by preventing any mistreatments and preserving their privacy. This is done simply by covering their bodies with a bedsheet during the examination and preventing individuals from entering the examination room. Furthermore, this also means preparing the appropriate environment by providing a comfortable, clean and quiet labor and birth room as this gives women a sense of security and comfort.
In its entirety, the study was able to gather the perceptions of healthcare providers which seemed to make the same point about what women want in labor care- kindness, respect, inclusion, and safety.
Reference:
Moridi M, Pazandeh F, Hajian S, Potrata B (2020) Midwives’ perspectives of respectful maternity care during childbirth: A qualitative study. PLOS ONE 15(3): e0229941. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229941