Maternal Satisfaction on Delivery Service among Postnatal Mothers in a Government Hospital, Mid-Western Nepal

BACKGROUND: Maternal satisfaction is one of the most frequently reported outcome measures for quality of care, and it needs to be addressed to improve the quality and efficiency of health care during pregnancy, childbirth, and puerperium to provide quality maternal-friendly services. OBJECTIVE: To find out the maternal satisfaction on delivery service among postnatal mothers in a government hospital, Mid-Western Nepal. METHOD: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in maternity ward of Bheri Zonal Hospital, Nepal. A total of 178 purposively selected postnatal mothers were interviewed face-to-face using semistructured interview schedules. Analysis and interpretation of the findings were done with the help of descriptive and inferential statistics. RESULTS: The study shows that majority (89.88%) of the mothers were satisfied with the delivery service. The level of satisfaction was higher in interpersonal and technical aspects (93.82%) of care than in informative aspects (91.57%) and health facility-related statements (91.01%). There was no statistically significant association between sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics and maternal satisfaction. Although insignificant, postnatal mothers who were illiterate were 2.710 times more likely to be satisfied than who were literate (p=0.475; OR = 2.710; CI = 0.343–21.4), also postnatal mothers up to primary level were 2.850 times more likely to be satisfied than secondary level and above (p=0.241; OR-2.850; CI 0.622–13.056). Also, in this study, postnatal mothers who were multiparous were 2.352 times more likely to be satisfied with the delivery service than primiparous (p=0.111; OR = 2.352; CI = 0.801–6.907). Majority (87.1%) of the mothers would like to receive delivery service next time in the same hospital. CONCLUSION: Majority of mothers were satisfied by the delivery service. Care givers need to fully understand the expectations the mothers have and provide care that is consistent with those expectations. The health system should be devised to increase maternal satisfaction in the health institution and provide maternal-friendly service.