The following is a summary of “Respectful maternity care interventions to address women mistreatment in childbirth: What has been done?,” published in the April 2024 issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology by Pablo et al.
In recent years, a surge of research has shed light on the prevalence of mistreatment, disrespect, and abuse (D&A) experienced by women during facility-based childbirth, highlighting its detrimental impact on their willingness to seek such care and on their postnatal well-being, including increased rates of severe postpartum depression. These negative encounters during labor represent a grave violation of human rights. Despite the gravity of this issue, the literature on interventions specifically designed to mitigate these practices remains scant. Thus, this scoping review aims to collate and analyze available evidence to identify successful initiatives to reduce mistreatment and promote Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) in health facilities during childbirth.
Through a comprehensive search of PubMed, this review identified ten pertinent articles. The majority of these studies were conducted in Africa, with one study each from Mexico and the U.S. Methodologically, the studies varied, including before-and-after designs, mixed-methods approaches, comparative studies between birth centers, and quasi-experimental designs. Notably, a common thread among these interventions was the provision of RMC training for healthcare providers, which consistently yielded improvements in the quality of care provided to women during childbirth. Additional strategies explored by select articles included open maternity days, clinical checklists, wall posters, and ongoing user feedback mechanisms.
These findings underscore the promise of interventions aimed at reducing mistreatment and promoting RMC for women in labor within health facilities. Notably, RMC training for healthcare providers emerged as the most effective strategy, highlighting its potential to enhance women’s childbirth experiences. Moving forward, further scientific inquiry is warranted to comprehensively evaluate the specific components and effectiveness of these interventions. Health institutions are encouraged to prioritize implementing RMC interventions that incorporate these strategies, thereby ensuring the provision of human rights-based maternity care for women across the globe.
Source: bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-024-06524-w