Does it happen and why? Lived and shared experiences of mistreatment and respectful care during childbirth among maternal health providers in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.

Introduction: Globally, mistreatment during childbirth remains a powerful deterrent to skilled birth utilization.

Aim: We determined the perpetrated and witnessed experiences of mistreatment and Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) among maternal health providers in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 156 maternal health providers in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria. Information was collected using semi-structured, self-administered questionnaires, and 3 focus group discussions. Quantitative and qualitative data analyses were performed using SPSS version 20 and thematic analysis respectively.

Findings: Most respondents were males (64.1%) and doctors (74.4%) with mean age of 31.97±6.82. Two-fifths (39.1%) and 73.1% of the respondents had ever meted out or witnessed disrespectful and abusive care to women during childbirth respectively. Verbal abuse and denial of companionship in labour were major mistreatments reported qualitatively and quantitatively. About a third of the respondents mistreated women 1-2 times in a week. Younger respondents had 64% lower odds of reporting mistreatment during childbirth (AOR=0.36, 95% CI=0.14-0.96). The most and least frequently practiced RMC element were provision of consented care (62.8%) and allowing birth position of choice respectively (3.8%). Poor hospital patronage and reputation were the perceived consequences of mistreatment during childbirth.

Conclusion: Witnessed rather than self-perpetrated mistreatment during childbirth was more reported in addition to poor RMC practices Self-perpetrated mistreatment during childbirth was less reported among younger providers. We recommend intensification of provider capacity building on RMC with special focus on older practitioners and the provision of supportive work environments that encourage respectful maternal care practices.