Studies have shown that many women worldwide experience mistreatment during pregnancy and childbirth. However, there are few quantitative estimates of the prevalence of mistreatment of women during facility-based childbirth in many developing countries including Ghana. Based on a cross-sectional retrospective survey of 253 randomly selected women who gave birth between November 2017 and April 2018 in a second-tier referral hospital in Ghana, this study examines mistreatment of women by midwives during childbirth and associated factors. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses were performed at 95% confidence level and p < 0.05. Results show that 83% of women were mistreated. Manifestations of mistreatments included detention for non-payment of bills (43.1%), non-confidential care (39.5%), abandonment (30.8%), verbal abuse (25.3%), discrimination (21.3%), physical abuse (14.2%) and non-consented care (13.3%). Factors that significantly independently predicted mistreatment after potential confounders were controlled for were being HIV positive (aOR: 0.11; 95% CI = 0.022–0.608; p = 0.011), being attended by a midwife rather than an obstetrician/gyneacologist (aOR: 0.07; 95% CI = 0.018–0.279; p < 0.01), and a woman’s husband earning lower monthly income. There is need for interventions to train midwives and other maternity care service providers in patient-centered care and interpersonal communication so as to minimize mistreatment of women during childbirth.
Part of the book: Selected Topics in Midwifery Care