Experience of respectful maternity care during childbirth and associated factors in public hospitals of the South West Region of Ethiopia: an institution-based, cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: To determine women’s level of experience of respectful maternity care during childbirth and associated factors in public hospitals in the South West Region of Ethiopia. DESIGN: Institution-based, cross-sectional study. SETTING: The study was conducted at secondary-level healthcare institutions in the South West Region of Ethiopia from 1 June to 30 July 2021. PARTICIPANTS: 384 postpartum women were sampled from four hospitals using a systematic random sampling technique, allocating a proportion to each health facility. Pretested structured questionnaires were used to collect data from the postnatal mothers through a face-to-face exit interview. OUTCOME MEASURES: The level of respectful maternity care was measured according to the Mothers on Respect Index. P values of <0.05 and 95% CIs were used to determine statistical significance. RESULTS: Of the 384 sampled women, 370 postnatal mothers participated in the study (response rate 96.3%). 11.6% (95% CI 8.4% to 15.1%), 39.7% (95% CI 34.3% to 44.6%), 20.8% (95% CI 17.3% to 25.1%), and 27.8% (95% CI 23.5% to 32.4%) of women experienced very low, low, moderate, and high levels of respectful maternal care during childbirth, respectively. Having no formal education was negatively associated with experience of respectful maternal care (adjusted OR (AOR)=0.51, 95% CI 0.294 to 0.899), while daytime delivery (AOR 8.53, 95% CI 5.032 to 14.47), giving birth through caesarean section (AOR 2.19, 95% CI 1.410 to 3.404) and future intention to give birth within the health facility (AOR 5.18, 95% CI 3.019 to 8.899) were positively associated with respectful maternal care. CONCLUSION: In this study, only one-fourth of women experienced high-level respectful maternal care during childbirth. Responsible stakeholders must develop guidelines and strategies to monitor and harmonise respectful maternal care practices at all institutions.