Evaluating Respectful Maternity Care among Postpartum Women in Selected Hospitals in Benin City, Edo State

This study evaluated respectful Maternity Care (RMC) among postpartum women in selected hospitals in Benin City. The objectives were to identify the practices of Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) among postpartum women in selected hospitals in Benin City, Edo state. And to identify factors affecting the practices of RMC in the study area. This study adopted a descriptive design using mixed method approach which involved the use of questionnaire as well as In-depth Interview (IDI) and Focus Group Interviews (FGI). The population were women who gave birth in January to June, 2024, who are in postnatal ward and those who are in immediate postpartum period in the selected private and public hospitals across Benin City. Hence, Random sampling method was used to select 310 participants. Data collected from the quantitative approach were analyzed and presented using tables and charts. Data from the in-depth interview and focus group interview were played, transcribed and analyzed inductively using contents, themes, sub-themes and quotes. The findings revealed that the RMC practices in the hospitals were positive. Among the nineteen highlighted practices, provision of information, respect for patient's cultural values and respect for patient's religious values were leading common positive practices which ranked 1st, 1st and 3rd respectively. In the overall, it was deduced that the RMC practices were positive in selected hospitals in Benin City as the overall mean was 3.26 out of 5.0 maximum rating. This represents 65.2% performance.