Mistreatment of women during childbirth and its determinants: a cross-sectional study in Mazandaran/Iran

Objective This study was designed to investigate the mistreatment of women during childbirth and its determining factors in a selected maternity hospital in Mazandaran/Iran. Design This cross-sectional study was designed in 2024. Setting Maternal and child clinics in the cities of Amol and Babol in Mazandaran/Iran. Precipitants The study population consisted of 215 women who were selected via convenience sampling and were at least 8 weeks postpartum. Results All participants in the study reported experiencing at least one form of mistreatment. 42% of cases experienced three types of mistreatment. The highest reported level of mistreatment was related to the poor relationship between women and service providers (88.1%) and physical abuse (80.9%), respectively. The overall satisfaction score for care was 33.96±9.17. Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that higher maternal age was significantly associated with lower odds of physical mistreatment (OR=0.923, 95% CI 0.865 to 0.985, p=0.016). Women without doula accompaniment during childbirth had higher odds of experiencing a lack of privacy compared with those who had a doula (OR=2.77, 95% CI 1.41 to 5.42, p=0.003), and failure to meet needs (OR=2.2; 95% CI 1.13 to 4.28; p=0.020), but significantly lower odds of experiencing poor communication (OR=0.128; 95% CI 0.043 to 0.337; p<0.001). Conclusions The results of this study indicated that the prevalence of mistreatment in participants in the selected hospitals was notable. The most reported mistreatment was the lack of effective communication between staff and the patient, followed by physical mistreatment and the lack of respect for privacy. Factors related to mistreatment included the mother’s age and the presence of a companion (doula) during delivery.