Women Health Right and Empowerment during Childbirth

Norah A Alshehri,Alanoud Alalshaikh,Khalid Alshehri,Yara Alzamil,Yasser Sabr,Shahad Alqahtani,Mouaiad Ghabban

doi:10.15520/jcmro.v4i02.394

Abstract

Background: Women health right and empowerment during childbirth is an emerging important topic worldwide. Violation of women dignity, privacy, and confidentiality impact birth outcomes as consequence influencing both morbidity and mortality rate. This occurs as result to complex reasons that attributable to health services which include inadequate coverage of health care, lack of trained assistance, insufficient essential obstetric care and poor health referral system.  Objective: To explore women experience during childbirth in terms of health rights and the quality of care provided and to further study women attuited and experience with midwives and their future role in obstetric care.  Method: Based on informant report, a random snowballing sampling technique was carried out through using an anonymous online - based questionnaire. Participants in this study were (n=360) women. Ethical approval was obtained by the institutional review board at King Saud University (IRB No. E-18-32836).  Results: The majority of women reported their childbirth experience as unfavourable. According to our findings, women encounter various kinds of obstetric violence including denial of access to a health care, restriction of analgesia, violation of privacy and failure of obtaining an informed consent which found to be high as (91.0%), (53.0%) respectively.   Conclusion: Optimal maternity care can be assured through appropriate access to medical resources and health care expertise with a higher priority committed to supporting midwife-led care during childbirth.

Highlights

Childbirth signifies an exceptional experience in a woman’s life impacting her both postpartum physical and psychological state.[1]
Our study aims to improve maternal health within this context and address this issue to further improve the current health care system and to prevent avoidable adverse events
Women who had vaginal delivery, their birth were complicated by an episiotomy (36%), while one-fourth needed an induction of labor

Summary

Introduction

Childbirth signifies an exceptional experience in a woman’s life impacting her both postpartum physical and psychological state.[1]. The literature suggests that mistreatment during childbirth is a worldwide phenomenon, composed of non-supportive care incorporating both physical and verbal abuse, violation of privacy, lack of autonomy to the patient and non-consented procedures.[6, 7, 8]. Privacy, and confidentiality impact birth outcomes as consequence influencing both morbidity and mortality rate. This occurs as result to complex reasons that attributable to health services which include inadequate coverage of health care, lack of trained assistance, insufficient essential obstetric care and poor health referral system. Women encounter various kinds of obstetric violence including denial of access to a health care, restriction of analgesia, violation of privacy and failure of obtaining an informed consent which found to be high as (91.0%), (53.0%) respectively.

Objectives

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion