Search and read at least one article on Respectful Maternity Care and share readings in the by replying in this discussion forum.
For most women, pregnancy and childbirth are two of the memorable events that could happen in their lives which may cause intense vulnerability and mixed emotions. All experiences of childbearing stays with the mothers’ memories which is why it is vital they receive special care in order to protect them as well as their babies against abuse and disrespect. Unfortunately, arising problems regarding humiliation to abuse are continuously experienced by most women.
In a research article written by Bulto, Demissie, & Tulu (2020), respectful maternity care is focused on promoting practices that recognize the needs of both the mother and the baby; however, many women across the world suffer from different types of disrespectful, abusive, and neglected treatment during childbirth which have been classified into seven categories: physical abuse, non-consented care, breach of confidentiality, non-dignified care, discrimination, abandonment of care, and detention in facilities. For instance, in Africa, most women would prefer to give birth in a health facility but choose not to due to previous experiences of low quality and disrespectful treatment. Despite numerous complaints and reports circulating this issue during the pregnancy journey of women, they remained unattended which mostly affect women residing in low and middle-income countries until now.
In addition to this, this article also explored the RMC during Labor and Childbirth in West Shewa zone, Central, Ethiopia since maternal mortality rate is high at 412/100,000 live births and yet skilled birth attendance is still low at 28% (Bulto et. al, 2020). Results showed that out of the 567 women surveyed, 364 (64.2%) women had experienced disrespect and abusive care during childbirth. From the seven categories of RMC, 434 (76.5%) of the women are protected from physical abuse, 506 (89.2%) from discrimination, and 319 (56.3%) were never left unattended while only 223 (39.3%) women stated that their right to information, informed consent, and preferences were protected. Among all categories, acquiring consent, access to information, and preferences were the least respected. If this study is conducted with a larger sample size, imagine how many more women had experienced abusive care during childbirth.
Respectful maternity care is indeed important to ensure comfort, to avoid emotional trauma and physical damage, and to empower women. This is considered a universal human right to every pregnant woman. Even though there are many women who receive proper maternity care, we cannot ignore the fact that there are others, especially poor women and their families, who are being disrespected and discriminated. With this, it is our job as healthcare providers to ensure that every childbearing woman is treated accordingly with respect and dignity.
Article:
Bulto, G.A., Demissie, D.B. & Tulu, A.S. Respectful maternity care during labor and childbirth and associated factors among women who gave birth at health institutions in the West Shewa zone, Oromia region, Central Ethiopia. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 20, 443 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-020-03135-z
Other Reference:
World Health Organization. (n.d.). RESPECTFUL MATERNITY CARE: THE UNIVERSAL RIGHTS OF CHILDBEARING WOMEN. The White Ribbon Alliance. Retrieved February 17, 2022, from https://www.who.int/woman_child_accountability/ierg/reports/2012_01S_Respectful_Maternity_Care_Charter_The_Universal_Rights_of_Childbearing_Women.pdf