Objective: High maternal and neonatal mortality rates in developing regions like Pakistan are linked to low rates of institutional deliveries. One way to improve rates of institutional deliveries is through improving institutional delivery service satisfaction in women. The aim of this research is to identify which factors influence delivery service satisfaction during the period of COVID-19 and which socio-demographic characteristics of women are associated with greater fear of catching COVID-19 during institutional deliveries.
Methods: A total of 190 women who had given birth between May to June, 2020, were sampled from two private and two public sector hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan. A standardized tool was modified for use and a combination of descriptive statistics and multivariate regression was applied.
Results: The results reveal that a majority of women, at 74.7%, are afraid of contracting COVID-19; specifically, women delivering at public hospitals, those who are illiterate or semi-literate, with more than four children, with low household income, and who are unemployed. Regression models are used to identify factors related to higher satisfaction, including the following: (i) pre-delivery care (explanatory power of R2 = 0.651); (ii) during delivery care (R2 = 0.716); (iii) after delivery care for women (R2 = 0.525); and (iv) after delivery care for newborn (R2 = 0.780). The main areas which influence satisfaction include the following: service quality of staff and administration; maintenance of hygiene and sanitation; involvement in decision-making; provision of necessary information; and advice for breastfeeding, immunization and family planning.
Conclusions for practice: Based on our findings, we recommend improved regulation of delivery services in both public and private hospitals and increased protection for disadvantaged women groups to maintain service quality during the pandemic.
Keywords: COVID-19; Delivery services; Institutional deliveries; Maternal and neonatal health; Pakistan.