TITLE:
Patient Experiences of Respectful Maternity Care in Two Cotonou University Hospitals in 2024
AUTHORS:
Moufalilou Aboubakar, Roger Klikpezo, Patrice Dangbemey, Gloria Donald Ahounou, Josiane Angeline Tonato-Bagnan
KEYWORDS:
Respectful Maternity Care, Parturients, Benin
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Reproductive Sciences,
Vol.13 No.4,
October
15,
2025
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Respectful maternity care (RMC) is a model of care centered on the values, attitudes, and behaviors of healthcare professionals with the aim of eradicating obstetric violence and positively impacting women’s experi- ences during labor and childbirth. Objective: To assess the patient experi- ence of Respectful Maternal Care in the delivery rooms of two Cotonou university hospitals in 2024. Method: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive, and evaluative study with prospective data collection through observation of the practices of healthcare professionals and interviews of patients on their experience of Respectful Maternity care over a period of three (03) months from July 12 to October 6, 2024. Results: The study included 104 women in labor. Observation of the practice reveals that all the parturients in the study were victims of at least one type of mistreatment by health professionals, the most observed forms being the refusal of the patient to have a support person during labor and delivery (100%), episiotomies without anesthesia (20.2%), lack of confidentiality (14.4%), and lack of explanation. On the contrary, based on the statements of the patients, 97.1% declare not having been victims of mistreatment. But one-third of patients (33.7%) were dissatisfied with their care at the study centers in terms of respectful maternity care. Conclusion: This study reveals, on the one hand, that a very high number of parturients are still victims of mistreatment and, on the other hand, that most are unaware of their rights regarding SMR. It is necessary to raise awareness among women in labor about their rights regarding RMC.