Respectful maternity care during childbirth in the rural tertiary care facility at Bihar

Mistreatment in healthcare is widespread in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) especially as obstetric violence in and around motherhood amid paucity of evidence. Respectful maternity care is a woman-centered care by discharge of soft skills from the healthcare workers (HCWs) that befriends and allays anxiety among mothers regarding their unborn child.

To assess the perception of mothers on their care during childbirth by feedback analysis.

This hospital-based study was conducted in a teaching rural institute from January 15 to July 14, 2024. The predesigned pretested semi-structured questionnaire collected feedback of mothers who delivered their children in the past 1 year containing 26 questions in 5 domains, namely, Friendly care (9), Non-confidential and non-dignified care (11), Negative experience (2), Neglect (2), and Discrimination (2).

An array of untold truths on 'Obstetric violence' was elicited by candid feedback from 58 respondent mothers on their positive and negative, subjective and objective internalization discharged by the HCWs. Mothers appreciated positively on the care received ranging from 58 (100) to 22 (37.93%) on different issues.

Overall, our mothers felt positive on service provision during childbirth at our center. Disrespect and abuse, though infrequent findings, underscore the need for continuing education on holistic maternity care. This paper will significantly impact on Family Medicine and Primary Care on LMICs including India to boost respectful maternity care.