Abstract
Introduction
Globally, mistreatment during childbirth remains a powerful deterrent to skilled birth
utilization.
Aim
We determined the perpetrated and witnessed experiences of mistreatment and Respectful
Maternity Care (RMC) among maternal health providers in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted among 156 maternal health providers in a tertiary
hospital in Nigeria. Information was collected using semi-structured, self-administered
questionnaires, and 3 focus group discussions. Quantitative and qualitative data analyses
were performed using SPSS version 20 and thematic analysis respectively.
Findings
Most respondents were males (64.1%) and doctors (74.4%) with mean age of 31.97 ± 6.82. Two-fifths (39.1%) and 73.1% of the respondents had ever meted out or witnessed
disrespectful and abusive care to women during childbirth respectively. Verbal abuse
and denial of companionship in labour were major mistreatments reported qualitatively
and quantitatively. About a third of the respondents mistreated women 1–2 times in
a week. Younger respondents had 64% lower odds of reporting mistreatment during childbirth
(AOR = 0.36, 95% CI = 0.14−0.96). The most and least frequently practiced RMC element were provision of
consented care (62.8%) and allowing birth position of choice respectively (3.8%).
Poor hospital patronage and reputation were the perceived consequences of mistreatment
during childbirth.
Conclusion
Witnessed rather than self-perpetrated mistreatment during childbirth was more reported
in addition to poor RMC practices Self-perpetrated mistreatment during childbirth
was less reported among younger providers. We recommend intensification of provider
capacity building on RMC with special focus on older practitioners and the provision
of supportive work environments that encourage respectful maternal care practices.
Abbreviations:
D&A (disrespect and abuse), FGD (focus group discussion), RMC (respectful maternity care), SBA (skilled birth attendants), SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences)Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 13, 2020
Accepted:
September 22,
2020
Received in revised form:
September 12,
2020
Received:
May 1,
2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
