Over the past decade, a growing body of evidence has highlighted the widespread impact of mistreatment and the necessity of placing respectful care at the centre of all maternal and newborn health strategies.

WHO’s Human Reproduction Programme (HRP), and partners released a new compendium on Wednesday aimed at ending mistreatment and promoting respectful maternal and newborn care, featuring the latest evidence and guidance on best practices.

From policymaking to clinical settings and community services, this compendium outlines actionable steps to uphold the rights, needs and preferences of women, newborns, parents and families.

Broad range of mistreatment

Taking different forms, mistreatment during childbirth ranges from neglect and abuse to non-consensual medical procedures, with an earlier WHO-supported study finding that 40 per cent of women in four countries had experienced some sort of abuse or discrimination during labour or childbirth.

Some reported being slapped, shouted at, or forcibly restrained.

Across these four countries, researchers also found that more than four in 10 women had been physically or verbally abused during childbirth, with some also experiencing discrimination.

In addition, up to 75 per cent of extremely sensitive procedures were performed without consent.

Shut out

“Too often, women are not part of decision-making and are treated with contempt or even abuse,” said WHO’s Dr. Hedieh Mehrtash.

“Respectful maternal and newborn care needs to be embedded and integrated into policy and practice,” said WHO, as the compendium provides practical resources for countries, urging health systems to proactively embed dignity, equity, and respect into every aspect of maternity and newborn care – building on WHO’s 2014 statement on preventing disrespect and abuse.

Highlighting critical areas where mistreatment is often overlooked, WHO’s compendium provides programme managers with essential background to build a foundational understanding of mistreatment and respectful care and aims to ensure respectful practices become the norm.