Consented maternal care and associated factors among mothers who gave birth at public health institutions in South Wollo Zone, Amhara region, Ethiopia 2022.

Introduction: Informed consent in healthcare services is a legal, ethical, and professional requirement on the part of all treating health providers and providing person-centered care. The methods of requesting consent during childbirth have not been extensively studied. In Ethiopia, there is not at all a single study done.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine associated factors among mothers who gave birth at health institutions in the South Wollo Zone, Amhara region, Ethiopia in 2022.

Methods: Mothers who gave birth at South Wollo Zone public health institutions, from 01 March to 30 April 2022 participated in a multi-center institutional-based cross-sectional study design. Systematic random sampling was used to select 423 study participants. A validated questionnaire was used for data collection, and the data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Data were entered into Epi-Data version 4.6 and exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with the outcome variable. The level of significance was determined using an adjusted odds ratio with a 95% confidence interval.

Result: The study had 416 participants in total, with a response rate of 98.3%. Out of the 416 respondents interviewed, 67.1% of the women received consented care. The age group of 30-34, complications during childbirth, intended pregnancy, merchant, and primary and referral hospital were significantly associated with consented care.

Conclusion: The level of non-consented care during delivery was high compared with other literature reflecting substantial mistreatment. Therefore, stakeholders should strengthen monitoring and assessment systems to prevent abuse, and further study is required to look for practical ways to make improvements. Key elements of consented care have also been included in Basic and Emergency Obstetric Care training sessions and given to health providers.