Obstetric violence and associated factors among women during facility based childbirth at Gedeo Zone, South Ethiopia

INTRODUCTION: Obstetric violence is a specific form of violence against women that violates their human rights. Conducted by obstetric care providers regarding the body and reproductive processes of the woman, being characterized by dehumanized assistance, abuse of interventionist actions, medicalization, and reversion of the process from natural to pathological. OBJECTIVE: To assess the magnitude of obstetric violence and associated factors among women during childbirth in Gedeo Zone, South Ethiopia. METHOD: Community based cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected 661 mothers in Gedeo Zone, South Ethiopia, from May 1 to May 30 2020. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to get a total of 661 mothers from their kebeles. Data was collected by using face-to--to-face interview with a structured questionnaire and in-depth interview was also employed. Data entry and analysis was done by Epi data version 3.1 and SPSS 23.0 statistical software. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine the important predictors of obstetric violence. Association between outcome and independent variables was presented by adjusted odds ratio with 95% CI. RESULTS: From the total of 661 mothers, about 79.7% (527) of mothers experienced obstetric violence with 95% CI (76.9–82.8). educational status (AOR = 2.2573, 95%CI = 1.44,3.54), ANC utilization (AOR = 2.365, 95%CI = 1.62–3.21), duration of stay (AOR = 0.5367,95%CI = 0.28,0.86)), and facing complication during labor and delivery (AOR = 3.1382, 95%CI = 2.34,5.17) were the major factors associated with obstetric violence. CONCLUSION: The magnitude of obstetric violence was high. Non dignified care and non-consented care was the most common form of obstetric violence which may lead a woman to choose for home delivery instead of health facility care, this in turn leads to a great increase in maternal morbidity and mortality as supported by qualitative approach of the study.