Does disrespect and abuse during childbirth differ between public and private hospitals in Southeast Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Disrespect and Abuse (D&A) during childbirth represents an important barrier to skilled birth utilization, indicating a problem with quality of care and a violation of women‘s human rights. This study compared prevalence of D&A during childbirth in a public and a private hospital in Southeast Nigeria. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional study among women who gave birth in two specialized health facilities: a public teaching and a private-for-profit faith-based hospital in Southeast Nigeria. In each facility, systematic random sampling was used to select 310 mothers who had given birth in the facility and were between 0-14 weeks after birth. Study participants were recruited through the immunization clinics. Semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaires using the Bowser and Hills classification of D&A during childbirth were used for data collection. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 at 95% significance level. RESULTS: Mean age of the participants in the public hospital was 30.41 ± 4.4 and 29.31 ± 4.4 in the private hospital. Over three-fifths (191; 61.6%) in the public and 156 women (50.3%) in the private hospital had experienced at least one form of D&A during childbirth [cOR1.58; 95% CI 1.15, 2.18]. Abandonment and neglect [Public153 (49.4%) vs. Private: 91 (29.4%); cOR2.35; 95% CI. 1.69, 3.26] and non-consented care [Public 45 (14.5%) vs. Private 67(21.6%): cOR0.62; 95% CI. 0.41, 0.93] were the major types of D&A during childbirth. Denial of companionship was the most reported subtype of D&A during childbirth in both facilities [Public 135 (43.5%) vs. Private66 (21.3%); cOR2.85; 95% CI. 2.00, 4.06]. Rural residents were less likely to report at least one form of D&A during childbirth (aOR 0.53; CI 0.35-0.79). CONCLUSION: Although prevalence was high in both facilities, overall prevalence of D&A during childbirth and most subtypes were higher in the public health facility. There is a need to identify contextual factors enabling D&A during childbirth in public and private health care settings. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12884-021-04298-z.