Abstract
BackgroundA human rights approach to maternal health is considered as a useful framework in international efforts to reduce maternal mortality. Although fundamental human rights principles are incorporated into legal and medical frameworks, human rights have to be translated into measurable actions and outcomes. So far, their substantive applications remain unclear. The aim of this study is to explore women’s perspectives and experiences of maternal health services through a human rights perspective in Magu District, Tanzania.MethodsThis study is a qualitative exploration of perspectives and experiences of women regarding maternity services in government health facilities. The point of departure is a Human Rights perspective. A total of 36 semi-structured interviews were held with 17 women, between the age of 31 and 63, supplemented with one focus group discussion of a selection of the interviewed women, in three rural villages and the town centre in Magu District. Data analysis was performed using a coding scheme based on four human rights principles: dignity, autonomy, equality and safety.ResultsWomen’s experiences of maternal health services reflect several sub-standard care factors relating to violations of multiple human rights principles. Women were aware that substandard care was present and described a range of ways how the services could be delivered that would venerate human rights principles. Prominent themes included: ‘being treated well and equal’, ‘being respected’ and ‘being given the appropriate information and medical treatment’.ConclusionWomen in this rural Tanzanian setting are aware that their experiences of maternity care reflect violations of their basic rights and are able to voice what basic human rights principles mean to them as well as their desired applications in maternal health service provision.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12914-016-0091-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Sub-standard quality of care during pregnancy and childbirth is increasingly acknowledged to negatively influence subsequent care seeking and an important underlying cause for maternal morbidity and mortality [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
‘The Respectful Maternity Care Charter: the Universal Rights of Childbearing Women’, launched by the White Ribbon Alliance, is a recent attempt to clearly demonstrate the link of human rights in maternal health with focus on the interpersonal aspects of care received by women seeking maternity services [15]
Applying such a human rights based approach to maternal health requires attention to the fundamental human rights principle of Solnes Miltenburg et al BMC International Health and Human Rights (2016) 16:17 dignity as well as its related principles autonomy, equality and safety which are relevant in all kinds of health care settings [16]
Summary
Sub-standard quality of care during pregnancy and childbirth is increasingly acknowledged to negatively influence subsequent care seeking and an important underlying cause for maternal morbidity and mortality [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. Numerous authors report abusive ‘The Respectful Maternity Care Charter: the Universal Rights of Childbearing Women’, launched by the White Ribbon Alliance, is a recent attempt to clearly demonstrate the link of human rights in maternal health with focus on the interpersonal aspects of care received by women seeking maternity services [15] Applying such a human rights based approach to maternal health requires attention to the fundamental human rights principle of Solnes Miltenburg et al BMC International Health and Human Rights (2016) 16:17 dignity as well as its related principles autonomy, equality and safety which are relevant in all kinds of health care settings [16]. It can be argued that sense of dignity is susceptible to internal and external actions [28]
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