Women's perspectives on the quality of hospital maternal and newborn care around the time of childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from the IMAgiNE EURO study in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina

Objective: To assess the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) in countries of the former Yugoslavia. Method: Women giving birth in a facility in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina between March 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021 answered an online questionnaire including 40 WHO standards-based quality measures. Results: A total of 4817 women were included in the analysis. Significant differences were observed across countries. Among those experiencing labor, 47.4%–62.3% of women perceived a reduction in QMNC due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 40.1%–69.7% experienced difficulties in accessing routine antenatal care, 60.3%–98.1% were not allowed a companion of choice, 17.4%–39.2% reported that health workers were not always using personal protective equipment, and 21.2%–53.8% rated the number of health workers as insufficient. Episiotomy was performed in 30.9%–62.8% of spontaneous vaginal births. Additionally, 22.6%–55.9% of women received inadequate breastfeeding support, 21.5%–62.8% reported not being treated with dignity, 11.0%–30.5% suffered abuse, and 0.7%–26.5% made informal payments. Multivariate analyses confirmed significant differences among countries, with Slovenia showing the highest QMNC index, followed by Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Serbia. Conclusion: Differences in QMNC among the countries of the former Yugoslavia during the COVID-19 pandemic were significant. Activities to promote high-quality, evidence-based, respectful care for all mothers and newborns are urgently needed. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04847336.