Women's perspectives on the quality of hospital maternal and newborn care around the time of childbirth during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Results from the IMAgiNE EURO study in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia‐Herzegovina

OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) in countries of the former Yugoslavia. METHOD: Women giving birth in a facility in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia‐Herzegovina between March 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021 answered an online questionnaire including 40 WHO standards‐based quality measures. RESULTS: A total of 4817 women were included in the analysis. Significant differences were observed across countries. Among those experiencing labor, 47.4%–62.3% of women perceived a reduction in QMNC due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, 40.1%–69.7% experienced difficulties in accessing routine antenatal care, 60.3%–98.1% were not allowed a companion of choice, 17.4%–39.2% reported that health workers were not always using personal protective equipment, and 21.2%–53.8% rated the number of health workers as insufficient. Episiotomy was performed in 30.9%–62.8% of spontaneous vaginal births. Additionally, 22.6%–55.9% of women received inadequate breastfeeding support, 21.5%–62.8% reported not being treated with dignity, 11.0%–30.5% suffered abuse, and 0.7%–26.5% made informal payments. Multivariate analyses confirmed significant differences among countries, with Slovenia showing the highest QMNC index, followed by Croatia, Bosnia‐Herzegovina, and Serbia. CONCLUSION: Differences in QMNC among the countries of the former Yugoslavia during the COVID‐19 pandemic were significant. Activities to promote high‐quality, evidence‐based, respectful care for all mothers and newborns are urgently needed. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04847336.