The Present Status of Respectful Maternity Care during Labor and Childbirth in Jordan: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Exploring the status of respectful maternity care (RMC) during labor and childbirth helps in determining the quality of maternity care. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the perception of pregnant women about RMC that they received during labor and childbirth and to evaluate the determinants of RMC perception. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used in this study. A convenience sample of 310 participants from two major hospitals in northern Jordan completed the RMC questionnaire. Thereafter, multiple regression was performed to identify the determinants of RMC perception. Results: The mean score of all the items of the questionnaire was 2.83 out of 4 (SD = 0.33), which indicated that the women experienced a moderate level of RMC. The lowest mean scores were obtained for the quality of healthcare (mean= 2.63, SD= .38), 48.7% and 56.8% of the participants indicated that they were not allowed to move or eat and drink during the first stage of labor, respectively. In addition to the right to information and informed consent (mean= 2.67 ± 0.54), 56.8% of the participants revealed that staff did not introduce themselves. Women with high family income or assistance from a midwife reported significantly higher RMC scores compared to those with low family income or those tended by doctors ( p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: Immediate action is needed to improve and support RMC as a critical component of maternal care by adopting standardized measures, and training healthcare providers to practice the code of ethics as a core component of RMC.