Abstract
Background
Every woman is entitled to respectful care during pregnancy and childbirth as a basic human right. However, not all women are being treated equally well.
Case Presentation
This case study highlights some of the common disrespectful practices that women face. This is a testimony of a 28-year-old mother of two, narrated in her own words. The data were collected during an in-depth interview in November 2019. The interview was conducted in her house and her name has been changed to protect her identity. The interview was audio-taped using a digital voice recorder, later transcribed, and translated verbatim from the local language – Amharic, to English.
Conclusion
This woman’s story highlights the unfortunate reality for some women. Five themes emerged from her narrative: denial of care: the provider left her unattended at a critical moment and denied her the care that she came for; non-consented care: she did not consent to the episiotomy; non-dignified care: she was carried by her arms and legs to the delivery couch, and left naked and bleeding on the couch after birth; taking a sick baby home without medical assistance: she was forced to leave the hospital even though her child had breathing difficulties and was not able to suck or breastfeed; and loss of trust in care providers: for her second birth this woman went to a facility where a relative works, as she no longer trusted these providers.
Abbreviations
WHO, World Health Organization; WRA, White Ribbon Alliance.
Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate
Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Adelaide human research ethics committee H-2019-153 and Salale University College of health sciences research ethics review committee A/G/H/S/C/768/11. The participant was informed about the purpose, benefit, risk, confidentiality of the information and the voluntary nature of participation. Original name of the mother was changed due to the sensitivity of the issue. The interview was conducted in participant’s house and she was accompanied by person of her choice. Data were collected only after informed written consent was obtained.
Consent for Publication
Written informed consent was provided by the participant for the case details to be published.
Acknowledgments
The authors are very grateful to the study participant for sharing her personal experience.
Author Contributions
All authors made substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; took part in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; agreed to submit to the current journal; gave final approval of the version to be published; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Disclosure
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest for this work.