Search and read at least one article on Respectful Maternity Care and share readings in the by replying in this discussion forum
Perception of Women regarding Respectful Maternity Care during Facility-Based Childbirth
Respectful Maternity Care refers to a universal human right that encompasses the principles of ethics and respect for women’s feelings, dignity, choices, and preferences. It was formulated by the WHO to ensure delivery of quality maternal and newborn health service as well as to prevent women mistreatment during pregnancy and childbirth. It focuses in forming an amiable bond between the woman and the healthcare providers during the various stages of childbirth and eradicating ill and abusive behaviors of healthcare providers to ensure that the woman would have a positive childbirth experience. The paper that I’ve selected is quantitative research conducted to determine women’s perception of respectful maternity care (RMC) during facility-based childbirth.
The study was done in Nepal Medical College and Teaching Hospital (NMCTH), Kathmandu with a sample size of 150. Participants were women admitted to the maternity ward who had a vaginal delivery and were about to be discharged from the study facility. They were interviewed face-to-face and a validated tool consisting of 15 items, each measured on a scale of 5, was used to observe RMC and its four dimensions: friendly-care, abuse-free care, timely care, and discrimination-free care.
The study showed that 84.7% of the women experienced overall RMC, with 80.7% claiming to receive a discrimination-free care, 83.3% experiencing friendly care, 54% experiencing abuse-free care, 68% being uncertain if they can practice cultural rituals in facility, and 76.7% disagreeing that they were poorly treated based on their personal attributes.
This study tested the relationship between the level of perception on overall RMC and each dimension of RMC with different variables such as age, ethnicity, education, occupation, monthly family income, length of stay during their recent childbirth, time of delivery, and parity.
There is no statistical association between overall RMC and the different variables. The same can be said with discrimination-free care and the varying variables. In the friendly-care dimension of RMC, only the length of stay of the respondents for their recent childbirth in the hospital was found to be statistically significant. Women who stayed at the facility for one or less than one day were more likely to experience friendly care than those who stayed longer. Mothers who have already given birth to a child previously are 3.663 times more likely to receive abuse-free care than those of new mothers. This might be because mothers who have gone through the childbirth process previously are more likely to understand and obey health professionals quickly, and thus less likely to receive abusive care.
There is a significant statistical association between the time of delivery which is under the timely care dimension. Mothers giving birth to the baby at day time experienced timely care than those giving birth at night time. This might be due to the staffs being overloaded with work during night time as they are fewer active staffs during that time. Lesser management supervision during the night time may predispose to some extent for such laxity in timely care.
Even though the majority of the women experienced the overall dimensions of RMC, 15.3% of the respondents did not experienced RMC as evidenced by prevalence of verbal abuse, physical abuse, delayed service provision, and not talking positively about pain and relief. Length of stay for delivery, time of delivery, and parity were identified as factors that influenced friendly care, timely care, and abuse-free care dimensions of RMC, respectively.
Supportive behavior during childbirth positively influences birth outcomes, while disrespectful behaviors affect birth outcomes negatively. This is why RMC should be monitored and observed at all times. It is every woman’s right to give birth in a context free from disrespect and abuse and studies such as this one is beneficial in ensuring that RMC is implemented and every woman receives this basic human dignity during one of the most vulnerable times in their lives.
Reference:
Pratima Pathak, Bijaya Ghimire, "Perception of Women regarding Respectful Maternity Care during Facility-Based Childbirth", Obstetrics and Gynecology International, vol. 2020, Article ID 5142398, 8 pages, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/5142398