Labour room violence in Uttar Pradesh, India: evidence from longitudinal study of pregnancy and childbirth

Abstract

ObjectivesThe major objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of labour room violence (LRV) (one of the forms of obstetric violence) faced by the women during the time of delivery in Uttar Pradesh (UP) (the largest populous state of India which is also considered to be a microcosm of India). Furthermore, this study also analyses the association between prevalence of obstetric violence and socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents.DesignThe study was longitudinal in design with the first visit to women made at the time of first trimester. The second visit was made at the time of second trimester and the last visit was made after the delivery. However, we have continuously tracked women over phone to keep record of developments and adverse consequences.SettingsUrban and rural areas of UP, India.ParticipantsSample of 504 pregnant women was systematically selected from the Integrated Child Development Scheme Register of pregnant women.OutcomeWe aimed to assess the levels and determinants of LRV using data collected from 504 pregnant women in a longitudinal survey conducted in UP, India. The dataset comprised three waves of survey from the inception of pregnancy to childbirth and postnatal care. Logistic regression model has been used to assess the association between prevalence of LRV faced by the women at the time of delivery and their background characteristics.ResultAbout 15.12% of women are facing LRV in UP, India. Results from logistic regression model (OR) show that LRV is higher among Muslim women (OR 1.8, 95% CI 0.7 to 4.3) relative to Hindu women (OR 1). The prevalence of LRV is higher among lower castes relative to general category, and is higher among those women who have no mass media exposure (OR 4.7, 95% CI 1.7 to 12.8) compared with those who have (OR 1).ConclusionIn comparison with global evidence, the level of LRV in India is high. Women from socially disadvantaged communities are facing higher LRV than their counterparts.

Obstetric violence and its associated factors among postnatal women in a Specialized Comprehensive Hospital, Amhara Region, Northwest Ethiopia

“…However, the proportion of OV in this study was higher than other previous studies’ report conducted in north Nigeria—55.9% [17], Kenya—20% [21], Brazil—18.3% [22], Northern India—28.8% [23] and Uttar Pradesh India—15.2% [24]. It was also higher as compared to studies done in Ethiopia such as pooled prevalence of systematic review and meta analysis—49.4% [25], Bahirdar city—67.1% [15], Southern Ethiopia—21.1% [26], four regions’ observational report—36% [27] and Northern Ethiopia—22% [16].…”

Evidence of ‘obstetric violence’ in India: an integrative review

“…Another study assessing the association between disrespect and abuse and socio-demographic factors found that women of low socioeconomic status (SES) were over three times more likely (OR = 3.68; 95% CI = 1.4-9.7) to have experienced disrespect and abuse than those of high SES (Nawab et al, 2019). This aligns with findings from a longitudinal study in Uttar Pradesh, which found that rich women were nearly half as likely (OR = 0.65; 95% CI = 0.16-2.59) to experience 'obstetric violence' as poor women (Goli et al, 2019). In contrast, Diamond-Smith et al (2017) found that being in the richest (compared with the poorest) wealth quintile was significantly associated with reporting mistreatment during childbirth (OR = 3.268; p < 0.01).…”

“…A community-based study in Uttar Pradesh found that 84.3% of women reported some kind of disrespect and abuse (Nawab et al, 2019). While the prevalence of women reporting any form of 'obstetric violence' was about the same in the studies of Patel et al (2015) (57.7%), Sudhinaraset et al (2016) (57.0%) and Diamond-Smith et al (2017) (50.0%), other studies in Uttar Pradesh found a much lower prevalence of women reporting any kind of obstetric violencenamely, 28.8% (Bhattacharya & Sundari Ravindran, 2018) and 15.1% (Goli et al, 2019). The latter were closer to the findings from a facility-based survey by Dey et al (2017), where observational data by health care providers showed that 22.4% of women reported being mistreated during delivery.…”

“…Diamond-Smith et al 2017, in their study in birth facilities in the slums of Uttar Pradesh, found a statistically significant difference in the mistreatment of women by caste, with nearly 72.0% of those from scheduled tribes (STs) and 63.52% from scheduled castes (SCs) reporting mistreatment, compared with only 30-40% in other castes. In line with these findings, Goli et al (2019), in their study in Uttar Pradesh, found that the odds of 'obstetric violence' in SCs were half of those among the general category (OR = 0.5; 95% CI = 0.1-1.5) and among other backward classes (OBC) (OR = 0.6; 95% CI = 0.3-1.5).…”

“…The same study also found that 2.3% of the participants were treated differently than others because they were from a particular community/social class. The results from a longitudinal study in urban and rural areas of Uttar Pradesh showed that obstetric violence was significantly higher among Muslim women (OR = 1.8; 95% CI = 0.7-4.3) compared with Hindu women (Goli et al, 2019).…”