Postnatal Women’s Assessment of Care Received During Child Birth at Selected Facilities in La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipality, Accra

Abstract

Encouraging women to deliver in facility settings is one strategy to improve maternal outcomes in developing countries. However, fear of maltreatment, as well as dissatisfaction with care during labour and delivery, have been reported as barriers to facility delivery. This study was therefore conducted to assess postnatal women’s level of satisfaction of care received during delivery and their choice for facility-based in subsequent births at La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipality (LNMM). The study adopted a cross-sectional design ina, Simple random sampling was used to select 313 women who reported at Madina Polyclinic (RC), Alpha Medical Centre and Madina Polyclinic Kekele six weeks after delivery. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The data was analyzed using STATA 15. Bivariable data analysis using Pearson’s Chi-square was used tp determine the association between socio-demographic characteristics, reproductive history and wein satisfaction with care as well as experience fo maltreatment. Logistic regression analysis was done to determine the strengths of association between the variables was done. A p-value for <0.05 was deemed to be statistically significant. The forms of support received during childbirth were, 54.3 percent of the women encouraged to have support persons at delivery, 76.7 percent were interested in the idea of labour companion with 22.4 percent of labour companions as husbands or partners. Postnatal women who experienced at least a form of disrespectful care during childbirth were 75.7 percent and 57.5 percent of women were satisfied with the care received at the health facilities. There was a significant association between the level of satisfaction and sociodemographic factors, the facility where childbirth occurred, forms of support received and the experience of disrespectful care. The preference for facility-based delivery at subsequent births was significantly associated with the level of satisfaction with care received and the experience of disrespectful care during labour and delivery. The concludes that a woman’s satisfaction with care received whilst pregnant or during child birth affects subsequent decision to seek health care in a facility. Improving quality of care and the birth experience of women can increase uptake of health facility-based delivery.