title: The global epidemic of abuse and disrespect during childbirth: History, evidence, interventions, and FIGO's mother-baby friendly birthing facilities initiative.
abstract: Recent evidence indicates that disrespectful/abusive/coercive service delivery by skilled providers in facilities, which results in actual or perceived poor quality of care, is directly and indirectly associated with adverse maternal and newborn outcomes. The present article reviews the evidence for disrespectful/abusive care during childbirth in facilities (DACF), describes examples of DACF, discusses organizations active in a rights-based respectful maternity care movement, and enumerates some strategies and interventions that have been identified to decrease DACF. It concludes with a discussion of one strategy, which has been recently implemented by FIGO with global partners-the International Pediatrics Association, International Confederation of Midwives, the White Ribbon Alliance, and WHO. This strategy, the Mother and Baby Friendly Birth Facility (MBFBF) Initiative, is a criterion-based audit process based on human rights' doctrines, and modeled on WHO/UNICEF's Baby Friendly Facility Initiative.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health and Policy, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA. Electronic address: suellenmiller@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Suellen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lalonde
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016550:Birthing Centers / Q000592:standards; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008427:Maternal Health Services / Q000592:standards; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D036801:Parturition / Q000523:psychology*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011247:Pregnancy; D014480:United Nations; D026712:Value of Life; D014933:Women's Rights / Q000379:methods*; D014944:World Health Organization
keywords: Abuse; Accountability; Baby friendly; Birthing facilities; Disrespect; Mother friendly; Quality of care; Rights