Improving respectful maternity care through group antenatal care: Findings from a cluster randomized controlled trial.
Theresa Norpeli Lanyo, Ruth Zielinski, Vida A Kukula and 4 others
PMID 40378481WHAT IT FOUND
Pregnant women in group antenatal care reported more respectful experiences than routine care: fewer said they were treated differently because of personal attributes, and more found wait times and information acceptable.
Key findings
01Women in group antenatal care less often reported being treated differently because of personal attributes (7.5% yes vs 17% control).
02Group care participants more often reported acceptable waiting time (92% vs 81%) and being told what to expect during pregnancy (95% vs 87%).
03Focus group participants described feeling cared for and comfortable telling midwives about problems.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Respectful maternity care answers were self-reported and may reflect social desirability bias. The respectful maternity care items had not been tested for validity or reliability. Focus groups included only women in the intervention group, so control women's experiences were not explored qualitatively. The study was limited to the Eastern Region of Ghana, so results may not generalise. The analysis compared groups only and did not examine parity, maternal age, or previous birth experience as possible predictors. The intervention was a package, so the effect of any single component cannot be separated.
Declared interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the better reported care as proof that group antenatal care improves birth outcomes. The paper reports women's self-reported experiences of respectful care after birth, using items that had not been tested for validity or reliability, and it does not separate the effects of the midwife facilitator, community health nurse assistant, peer checks, discussions, and training materials.