Delivery Health Service Satisfaction of Mothers and Fear of COVID-19: Implications for Maternal and Child Health in Pakistan

Abstract 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 mothers. The aim of this research is to identify which factors influence delivery service satisfaction in mothers during the era of COVID-19 and to identify socio-demographic characteristics of mothers associated with greater fear of catching COVID-19 during institutional deliveries. A total of 190 women who had delivered a baby between May 2020 and June 2020 were sampled from two private and two public hospitals of Lahore which gave permission for data collection. Results reveal that majority women at 74.7% are afraid of contracting COVID-19, specifically women: delivering at public hospitals, who are illiterate or semi-literate, with more than 4 children, with low household income, and who are unemployed. Four multiple regression models were used to identify factors related to higher satisfaction in delivery services, including: (i) pre-delivery care (explanatory power of R2 = 0.651), (ii) during delivery care (R2 = 0.716), (iii) after delivery care for mother (R2 = 0.525), and (iv) after delivery care for newborn (R2 = 0.780). Based on our findings we recommend improved regulation of delivery services, especially at public hospitals, increased protection for disadvantaged women groups, and improved service quality by healthcare providers.