Development of the respectful maternal care scale for women during birth and evaluation of their receiving respectful maternal care

Aim: To phenomenologically evaluate the care women receive at birth, to develop a valid and reliable measurement tool with the findings obtained, and to determine the level of Respectful Maternity Care with the developed measurement tool. Methods: This research has a mixed pattern exploratory design method and consists of three stages. The qualitative study was conducted with 16 postpartum mothers between 23 September and 23 October 2022, with 6 participants online and 10 participants face to face. In the second stage, the final draft scale with 43 items, prepared after expert opinions, was applied to 437 postpartum women between 01 June and 15 November 2023. The Respectful Maternity Care Scale at Birth was applied to 800 postpartum women in the third stage, in an online design, between 06 December 2023 and 06 April 2024. Results: Four sub-themes were created within the scope of the definition of respectful maternal care at birth. A draft scale was created with 83 statements within the scope of sub-themes. As a result of the explanatory factor analysis of the final draft scale applied to the sample after expert opinions; It was found that the 26-item scale has a three-factor structure, explains 62% of the total variance, the total score Cronbach Alpha coefficient of the scale is 0.944, and the Respectful Maternity Care Scale at Birth is a valid and reliable scale that can be applied in the postpartum period. The rate of respectful maternity care at birth in Turkey is 78.75%. Conclusions: Respectful Maternity Care Scale at Birth is a valid and reliable scale. In Turkey, three out of every four women receive adequate respectful maternal care at birth. Since respectful maternity care at birth is the main element of maternity care, it should be implemented in all institutions providing maternity services, and more studies should be conducted with the Respectful Maternity Care at Birth Scale.