Impact of respectful maternal care training of health care providers on satisfaction with birth experience in mothers undergoing normal vaginal birth: A prospective interventional study

OBJECTIVE: To study the impact of respectful maternity care (RMC) training of health care providers on RMC and birth satisfaction in mothers undergoing normal vaginal birth. METHODS: A prospective interventional study was performed comparing RMC and birth satisfaction in women undergoing vaginal births before and after RMC training of health care providers from November 2021 to March 2023 in a tertiary care center in India. Person-centered maternity care (PCMC) and birth satisfaction scale-revised (BSSR) scales were used to study women's RMC and birth satisfaction, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 100 women undergoing normal vaginal birth were enrolled in pre- and post-intervention phases. The intervention was done through formal and onsite training of health care providers in RMC. The mean total PCMC scale score in the post-training group demonstrated a remarkable increase to 51.95 ± 6.50, significantly higher than the pre-training mean of 32.82 ± 8.47 (P < 0.0001). The mean ± SD of the BSSR scale total score in the post-training group increased significantly to 27.17 ± 3.67, surpassing the pre-training mean of 21.19 ± 5.48 (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The study showed significant improvement in RMC and birth satisfaction score in the post-training group thereby emphasizing the importance of RMC training of health care providers in the facility.