Determinants of respectful maternity care at a tertiary care teaching institute in South India: A mixed‐methods study

Objective To determine the proportion of women who experienced disrespect and abuse (D&A) and the type of D&A during labor and postpartum, and to determine the factors significantly associated with D&A. Methods A cross‐sectional mixed‐methods study undertaken in tertiary care teaching institute South India. After ethical approval, 380 postpartum women within 72 h of delivery were recruited for the study. The determinants of respectful maternity care (RMC) were assessed quantitatively and qualitatively. For quantitative assessment, they were interviewed using questionnaires adopted from the United States Agency for International Development‐ Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (USAID‐MCHIP) protocol, which has verification criteria for RMC. As a second method for quantitative assessment, they were asked to rate the care from their perspective on a 10‐point score. For the qualitative component, they were asked to identify the healthcare workers associated with D&A by their designation and to answer three open‐ended questions. IBM SPSS Statistics 25 (IBM Corporation, Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 25) was used for analysis. D&A as per RMC standards I–VII and its severity were expressed as frequencies and percentages with 95% confidence interval. Univariate analysis was used to determine the associated factors, and severity was determined by χ2 test. Results The prevalence of D&A was high (85%) according to the RMC standards of the USAID‐MCHIP questionnaire, whereas it was only 33% according to women's perspective. The most common type of D&A was non‐dignified care. The factors significantly associated with D&A were women over 25 years, those admitted as an emergency referral, having a recommendation letter, and relatives working at the same healthcare facility. Conclusion The prevalence of D&A was high as measured by the USAID‐MCHIP questionnaire, and the most common type was non‐dignified care followed by physical abuse. Synopsis The prevalence of disrespect and abuse during childbirth is high according to the standards of the USAID‐MCHIP, but it is lower from the women's perspective.