Resources to Create a Culture of Respectful Maternity Care

Across the United States, persistent differences in maternal health outcomes impact many communities. These outcomes are not simply the result of clinical risk, they often reflect how care is delivered, how patients are engaged and whether they feel heard, informed and supported during childbirth. Every woman giving birth deserves to feel safe, respected and involved in decisions about their care. Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) is about making that a reality. 

Respectful maternity care is an approach to care that honors the dignity, autonomy, personhood and individual preferences of women giving birth. It aims to prevent disrespect and mistreatment in healthcare systems and provides a practical framework informed by principles of dignity, respect and high-quality care.

To address these differences in outcomes, many national organizations have issued evidence and tools that emphasize not only clinical quality, but also an understanding of what constitutes respectful maternity care. The NICHQ Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) Toolkit builds on those efforts, as well as on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) Safety Program for Perinatal Care (SPPC) Toolkit, which provides strategies and tools to improve teamwork, communication and safety culture in perinatal units.

The NICHQ RMC Toolkit is designed to support individual clinicians, clinical teams and clinical leadership in promoting and practicing respectful maternity care. The Toolkit has two components: a Resource Guide and Clinical Care Training Modules. The Resource Guide is organized by respectful care categories, or domains, and offers actionable strategies for embedding patient-centered practices into routine care delivery. The five domains include dignity, communication, autonomy-in-decision making, informed consent and accountability. 

Each domain focuses on a core element of respectful care and includes: 

• Practices for individual clinicians and teams 
• Strategies for clinical institutions  
• Tools and resources for implementation 

The Clinical Training Modules that accompany the Resource Guide are centered on each of the care domains and also align with key stages of the birth journey: triage, admission, labor, delivery and immediate postpartum. These modules highlight moments where individuals and teams can apply the strategies outlined in this resource guide to improve patient experience and outcomes.