ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Glob. Women’s Health
Sec. Maternal Health
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring Health Disparities in Black Communities: Historical Perspectives, Present Challenges, and Future DirectionsView all 11 articles
Exploring Respectful Maternity Care Practices: Views from Women Delivered by Midwives at St. Anne's Hospital, Damongo, Savannah Region, Ghana
Provisionally accepted
- 1Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
- 2Garden City University College, Kumasi, Ghana
- 3Garden City Community College, Garden City, United States
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Globally, every woman is entitled to the highest achievable standards of health, including the right to respectful maternity care (RMC). Respectful maternity care (RMC) is essential for positive childbirth experiences, as endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Despite widespread awareness of RMC principles, mistreatment during childbirth remains an issue, indicating a gap between knowledge and practice. This study explored the experiences of mothers delivered by midwives at St. Anne's Hospital in Damongo, focusing on RMC practices. Using an exploratory design, interviews with 10 participants revealed that most women understood pregnancy and childbirth well, with the majority being aware of RMC principles. Effective communication and supportive care were valued, though some reported instances where their dignity was compromised. The study concludes that while there is a general understanding of RMC, inconsistencies in practice persist, highlighting the need for consistent application of RMC principles. The study recommends that mothers be encouraged to actively engage with healthcare providers, express their preferences, and report mistreatment. St. Anne's Hospital should prioritize training, infrastructure upgrades, and continuous quality improvement for RMC. Additionally, policymakers should strengthen guidelines, enforce legislation, and allocate resources to improve maternal healthcare. Further research is needed to explore the longterm effects of mistreatment on women's health.
Keywords: RespectfulMaternityCare(RMC), Childbirthexperiences, Midwifery, Maternalmistreatment, Patient dignity, maternal healthcare, St. Anne's Hospital
Received: 26 Mar 2025; Accepted: 11 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Amekpor, Osei-Mensah, Pious, Abdulai and Abdulai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Felix Amekpor
Christa Osei-Mensah
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