Title
Observations and reports of incidents of how birthing persons are treated during childbirth in two public facilities in Argentina
Date Issued
01 July 2022
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy (IECS)
Publisher(s)
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Abstract
Objective: This study sought to estimate the frequency and types of mistreatment during childbirth and explore health professionals’ opinions on barriers/facilitators to providing respectful childbirth care. Methods: This prospective mixed-methods investigation consisted of direct observations of childbirth (n = 250), at-home surveys with birthing individuals (n = 45), and qualitative in-depth health staff interviews (n = 6), conducted between January and July 2019, in two public facilities in Argentina. Frequencies of clinical practices and mistreatment and 5% confidence intervals were calculated. A logistic regression analysis was also conducted to examine associations between mistreatment and covariates of interest, with P < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Results: Overall, 61/250 (24.4%, confidence interval 19.6%–30.6%) observations recorded instances of mistreatment; 20/45 surveyed participants (44.4%) reported at least one episode of mistreatment. The most frequent perpetrators were physicians (35.6%), birth companions (24.4%), midwives (22.2%), and nurses (13.3%). Participants with lower educational attainment and those racialized as non-white had higher odds of being mistreated. Health providers reported that respectful childbirth is currently widely implemented due to authorities’ and communities’ awareness on respectful birth´s rights. Conclusion: Almost a quarter of birthing people were observed to suffer mistreatment – primarily verbal abuse – and 44.4% of surveyed individuals reported mistreatment. Future research is needed to determine how to ensure the provision of respectful childbirth care for all. A quarter of participants experienced mistreatment; mostly those with lower educational attainment and/or racialized as non-white. Further research on implementation of respectful childbirth is warranted.
Start page
35
End page
43
Volume
158
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Obstetricia, Ginecología
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85116411876
PubMed ID
Source
International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Resource of which it is part
International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics
ISSN of the container
00207292
Sponsor(s)
We would like to express our deep gratitude to the birthing persons who participated in this study for allowing us to observe such an intimate episode in their lives, and later query them about it. Thank you to the data collection team for their excellent work, and to the hospital authorities for their support. This research was made possible by the support of the Argentinian Ministry of Health.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus