Every Mother Counts: listening to mothers to transform maternity care.

More than a decade ago, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution recognizing maternal health as a human right. Subsequently, global advocates mobilized to establish the right to respectful maternity care, which has since been formally recognized by the World Health Organization and endorsed by more than 90 international, civil society, and health professional organizations. Despite widespread acknowledgment of this right, traditional approaches to maternity care do not adequately address aspects of quality care that are highly valued by mothers and birthing people, such as respect, dignity, and shared decision-making, and high numbers of women and birthing people worldwide continue to experience disrespect and mistreatment during childbirth.