Objective To quantify parents’ experiences of respectful care around
stillbirth globally. Design Multi-country, online, cross-sectional
survey. Setting and Population Self-identified bereaved parents (n=3769)
of stillborn babies from 44 high- and middle-income countries. Methods
Parents’ perspectives of 7 aspects of care quality, factors associated
with respectful care, and 7 bereavement care practices were compared
across geographical regions using descriptive statistics. Respectful
care was compared between country income groups using multivariable
logistic regression. Main Outcome Measures Self-reported experience of
care around the time of stillbirth Results A quarter (25.4%) of 3769
respondents reported disrespectful care after stillbirth and 23.5%
reported disrespectful care of their baby. Gestation <30
weeks, and primiparity were associated with disrespect. Reported
respectful care was lower in middle-income countries (MICs) than in
high-income countries (HICs) (aOR=0.35, 95%CI (0.29-0.42), p
<0.01). In many countries, aspects of care quality need
improvement, such as ensuring families have enough time with providers.
Participating respondents from Latin America and Southern Europe
reported lower satisfaction across all aspects of care quality compared
to Northern Europe. Unmet need for memory-making activities in MICs is
high. Conclusions Despite improvements, many parents still experience
disrespectful care around stillbirth. The gap between parents’ access to
memory-making activities in MICs and HICs needs urgent attention.
Tweetable abstract A quarter of parents of stillborn babies experience
disrespectful care. There is global unmet need for memory-making
activities
Investigation and treatment for iron deficiency in heart failure: the unmet need in Lower and Middle Income Countries