Respectful maternity care is a fundamental human right for all women. The World Health Organization defines respectful maternity care as care that maintains the dignity, privacy, and confidentiality of pregnant and birthing women, ensures freedom from harm and mistreatment, enables informed choice, and provides continuous support during labour and birth.
To support this, the Respectful Maternity and Newborn Care Framework has been developed as a practical tool for clinicians and consumers to work in genuine partnership, especially when a woman makes an informed decision about her care pathway that differs from clinical recommendations.
What the framework offers
The framework includes case studies, flowcharts, and tools to guide informed decision-making, ensuring that a woman’s autonomy, dignity, and cultural needs are respected throughout her maternity journey. It is designed to help cultivate an environment where respectful care is not only a priority but a standard of practice.
The framework:
- supports health services at all levels of capability and across all specialties
- reinforces a culture of respect in every individual’s practice and every facet of clinical governance.
- provides practical guidance to embed respectful maternity and newborn care as a core part of how we operate.