maternal disrespect and abuse among mothers who gave childbirth at public health facilities and associated factors in gondar town, northwest, ethiopia

Background & aim: respectful and non‐abused maternal healthcare services can reduce maternal and child mortality rate. however, there is a scarcity of evidence on status of maternal health services. therefore, this study aimed to assess maternal disrespect and abuse during maternal health service. methods: an institution‐based cross‐sectional study was employed among 415 post‐partum mothers from march 1st to may 30th, 2020. a strati􀏐ied random sampling technique was used to select participants. data were collected using a structured pretested questionnaire, entered into epi‐data version 3.1, and then exported to spss version 20 software for analysis with descriptive and inferential statistics. results: the study revealed that 49.6% (95% (ci: 44.7–55.0)) of mothers experienced disrespect and abuse during receiving care. non‐confidential care (49.9%), unconsented care (35.8%), and delayed care (28.7%) were the most frequently mentioned disrespects and abuses. being uneducated (aor = 0.32, 95% ci: 0.13 0.75), having anc visits (aor = 0.19, 0.07 0.52), hospital delivery (aor = 1.88, 95% ci: 1.18.97), staying more than12 hours in health facility (aor = 1.84, 95% ci: 1.13.01), having birth complications (aor = 2.56, 95% ci: 1.52.28), and instrumental delivery (aor = 2.75, 95% ci: 1.62, 4.65) were predictors of disrespect and abus care. conclusion: maternal disrespect and abuse was common during maternal healthcare services. to decrease maternal and child mortality, providing respectful and non‐abused maternal healthcare and safeguarding women’s fundamental rights during facility delivery is necessary.