Table 3.
Mistreatment among women with and without a labour companion present at any point during care, N=20 34*
| No labour companion present (N=1317) | Labour companion present (N=717) | Total† (N=2034) | |
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |
| Any physical abuse, verbal abuse, or stigma and discrimination | 533 (40.5) | 280 (39.1) | 813 (40.0) |
| Any physical abuse‡ | 189 (14.4) | 76 (10.6) | 265 (13.0) |
| Any verbal abuse | 447 (33.9) | 257 (35.8) | 704 (34.6) |
| Any stigma and discrimination | 40 (3.0) | 28 (3.9) | 68 (3.3) |
| Informed consent for procedures | |||
| C-section‡ | 121 (9.2) | 91 (12.7) | 212 (10.4) |
| Non-consented* | 20 (18.5) | 10 (12.4) | 30 (14.2) |
| Episiotomy*ঠ| 177 (14.8) | 103 (19.0) | 276 (16.1) |
| Non-consented*§ | 87 (56.8) | 42 (44.2) | 129 (52.0) |
| Induction of labour‡ | 68 (5.6) | 105 (17.4) | 173 (9.5) |
| Non-consented* | 14 (21.9) | 20 (21.5) | 34 (21.7) |
| Any vaginal examination‡ | 1276 (96.9) | 659 (91.9) | 1935 (95.1) |
| Non-consented‡* | 701 (55.6) | 278 (43.1) | 927 (51.4) |
| Communication | |||
| Woman felt that health workers or staff did not listen and respond to her concerns‡ | 212 (16.3) | 65 (9.3) | 277 (13.9) |
| Neglect and abandonment | |||
| Staff member not present when the baby came out§ | 25 (2.1) | 16 (2.6) | 41 (2.3) |
| Woman waited for long periods of time before attended by health workers‡ | 176 (13.4) | 126 (17.6) | 302 (14.9) |
| Woman felt ignored, neglected, or that presence was a nuisance for health workers or staff | 191 (14.5) | 121 (17.0) | 312 (15.4) |
| Pain relief | |||
| Requested pain relief‡ | 278 (21.1) | 92 (12.9) | 370 (18.2) |
| Did not receive pain relief | 103 (37.1) | 33 (35.9) | 136 (36.8) |
*Percentages exclude unknowns for each variable.
†Total is sample based on Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria.
‡Significant Χ2 at p<0.05.
§Marginally significant (p=0.05).
¶Among women with vaginal birth only.