Defining disrespect and abuse of women in childbirth: a research, policy and rights agenda

Freedman, Lynn P.; Ramsey, Kate; Abuya, Timothy; Bellows, Benjamin; Ndwiga, Charity; Warren, Charlotte E.; Kujawski, Stephanie; Moyo, Wema; Kruk, Margaret E; Mbaruku, Godfrey

doi:10.2471/blt.14.137869

Cited by 206 publications

(229 citation statements)

References 3 publications

(2 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

217

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Space constrained labour-rooms and obstructions caused by the use of curtain in attending to multiple women simultaneously have been cited as potential reasons that providers do not use curtains for privacy [11,52–54]. Facility cleanliness in terms of clean linen in the wards, with frequent cleaning of the wards and toilets was a significant determinant of women’s overall satisfaction of services, which often are irregular and disorganised [55–59].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do women’s perspectives of quality of care during childbirth match with those of providers? A qualitative study in Uttar Pradesh, India

Bhattacharyya

Srivastava

Saxena

et al. 2018

Global Health Action

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Persistently high maternal mortality levels are a concern in developing countries. In India, monetary incentive schemes have increased institutional delivery rates appreciably, but have not been equally successful in reducing maternal mortality. Maternal outcomes are affected by quality of obstetric care and socio-cultural norms. In this light there is need to examine the quality of care provided to women delivering in institutions. Objective: This study aimed to examine pregnant women’s expectations of high-quality care in public health facilities in Uttar Pradesh, India, and to contrast this with provider’s perceptions of the same, as well as the barriers that limit their ability to provide high-quality care. Methods: A qualitative descriptive analysis was conducted on data from two studies – focus group discussions with rural women in their last trimester of pregnancy (conducted in 2014) to understand women’s experience and satisfaction with maternal care services, and in-depth interviews with care providers (conducted in 2016–17) to understand provision of person-centred care. Provider perspectives were matched with themes of women’s perspectives on quality of childbirth care in facilities. Results: Major themes of care prioritised by women included availability of doctors at the facility; availability of medicines; food; ambulance services; maintenance of cleanliness and hygiene; privacy; good and safe delivery with no complications; client-provider interaction; financial cost of care. Many women also voiced no expectation of care, indicating disillusionment from the existing system. Providers concurred with women on all themes of care except availability of doctors, as they felt that trained nurses were proficient in conducting deliveries. Conclusions: This study shows that women have clear expectations of quality care from facilities where they go to deliver. Understanding their expectations and matching them with providers’ perspectives of care is critical for efforts to improve the quality of care and thereby impact maternal outcomes.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do women’s perspectives of quality of care during childbirth match with those of providers? A qualitative study in Uttar Pradesh, India

Bhattacharyya

Srivastava

Saxena

et al. 2018

Global Health Action

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…22 Freedman and colleagues argued that those categories lacked a definition in terms of the characteristics of healthcare provider behaviour, facility conditions or other factors that could be constructed as disrespectful and abusive. 23 They proposed a model to assess the individual, structural, and policy level interactions that shape the problem, and defined disrespect and abuse in childbirth as the "interactions or facility conditions that local consensus deems to be humiliating or undignified, and those interactions or conditions that are experienced as or intended to be humiliating or undignified", acknowledging its links with the wider social dynamics of inequality and uneven power between groups. 23 Amid the growing debate, in 2014 the World Health Organization released a powerful statement on Prevention and elimination of disrespect and abuse during facility-based childbirth, where the right of every woman to access dignified and respectful health care was highlighted.…”

Section: Disrespect and Abuse During Childbirthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…23 They proposed a model to assess the individual, structural, and policy level interactions that shape the problem, and defined disrespect and abuse in childbirth as the "interactions or facility conditions that local consensus deems to be humiliating or undignified, and those interactions or conditions that are experienced as or intended to be humiliating or undignified", acknowledging its links with the wider social dynamics of inequality and uneven power between groups. 23 Amid the growing debate, in 2014 the World Health Organization released a powerful statement on Prevention and elimination of disrespect and abuse during facility-based childbirth, where the right of every woman to access dignified and respectful health care was highlighted. 24 A systematic review by Bohren and colleagues followed on mistreatment of women during childbirth, presenting a new typology of mistreatment organised in seven themes: physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal abuse, stigma and discrimination, failure to meet professional standards of care, poor rapport between women and providers, and health system conditions and constraints.…”

Section: Disrespect and Abuse During Childbirthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving beyond disrespect and abuse: addressing the structural dimensions of obstetric violence

Sadler¹,

Santos

Ruiz‐Berdún

et al. 2016

Reproductive Health Matters

324

232

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During recent decades, a growing and preoccupying excess of medical interventions during childbirth, even in physiological and uncomplicated births, together with a concerning spread of abusive and disrespectful practices towards women during childbirth across the world, have been reported. Despite research and policy-making to address these problems, changing childbirth practices has proved to be difficult. We argue that the excessive rates of medical interventions and disrespect towards women during childbirth should be analysed as a consequence of structural violence, and that the concept of obstetric violence, as it is being used in Latin American childbirth activism and legal documents, might prove to be a useful tool for addressing structural violence in maternity care such as high intervention rates, non-consented care, disrespect and other abusive practices.

show abstract

“…[9][10][11] Tanzanian nurses stated that adequate education and supervision for new nurses as well as continuing education were not available to them, which caused feelings of discomfort and disinclination because they could not keep up with medical developments and use new scientific knowledge and proven methods to care for their patients. [5] For example, it was reported that women were less mobile during childbirth in hospitals compared to those at home, and that the supine position was routinely used for deliveries in hospitals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global collaboration between Tanzania and Japan to advance midwifery profession: A case report of a partnership model

Shimpuku

Horiuchi

Leshabari

et al. 2015

JNEP

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The global health agenda to reduce maternal mortality is delayed in Sub-Saharan Africa. The shortage of skilled birth attendants in Tanzania hinders the improvement of midwifery care to prevent maternal mortality and morbidity. It is urgently neccesary to develop midwifery leaders capable of working as educators, researchers, administrators, and advanced practitioners, contributing to the improvement of midwifery care and maternal child health in their own country. This report describes the process of establishing the first midwifery master's program in Tanzania through the efforts of two academic institutions, one in Tanzania and one in Japan. The collaboration developed a sustainable partnership model for the advancement of midwifery education. This partnership model was based upon the professional relationships corresponding with our values of humanized childbirth and people-centered care. The key elements for the project success included: (1) spending adequate time for in-person communication with the collaborative partner; (2) sharing the same goals and concepts; (3) understanding different values and norms for working and living; (4) learning ways of communication and project implementation in the partner's culture and (5) confirming the feasibility, which could increase team members' motivation and commitment. Midwives from the two institutions both gained knowledge and research outcomes as well as the satisfaction of establishing the midwifery master's program. To improve the remaining global maternal health issues, this win-win collaboration should be considered as the 21st century's partnership model for the global health community.

show abstract

Defining disrespect and abuse of women in childbirth: a research, policy and rights agenda

Cited by 206 publications

References 3 publications

Do women’s perspectives of quality of care during childbirth match with those of providers? A qualitative study in Uttar Pradesh, India

Do women’s perspectives of quality of care during childbirth match with those of providers? A qualitative study in Uttar Pradesh, India

Moving beyond disrespect and abuse: addressing the structural dimensions of obstetric violence

Global collaboration between Tanzania and Japan to advance midwifery profession: A case report of a partnership model

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About