Women's views and experience of their maternity care at a referral hospital in Ghana

Abstract

Reducing death and morbidity by promoting high quality maternal and newborn care is a key goal for global health programmes. A recent systematic review defined quality care as preventive and supportive care with effective treatment for problems when they arise ( Renfrew et al, 2014 ). It showed that women want health professionals who combine clinical skills with interpersonal competence. This article describes a qualitative study to explore the experiences of eleven newly delivered women at a large referral hospital in Accra, to identify which factors contributed to a positive or negative birth experience. The study found that women's satisfaction or dissatisfaction were due to their perceptions of clinical competency (basic, practical, timely monitoring and treatment) and emotional support (respect, kindness and reassurance).