Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2018, 8, 610-629 http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojog ISSN Online: 2160-8806 ISSN Print: 2160-8792 DOI: 10.4236/ojog.2018.86067 Jun. 25, 2018 610 Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology Prevalence of Disrespectful Maternity Care and Abuse among Women Seeking Maternity Care Services at the Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study Ondieki Peter Atai * , Hannah Inyama, Sabina Wakasiaka, Joyce Jebet, Jennifer Oyieke Department of Midwifery and Obstetric Nursing, School of Nursing Sciences, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya Abstract Background: Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) is a basic human right for every childbearing woman. Acts of disrespectful maternity care and abuse are commonly reported worldwide and are recognized as a powerful deterrence to facility based childbirth than the traditionally known accessibility. In Kenya, acts of disrespect and abuse are frequently reported. Objectives of the study: To assess the prevalence of disrespectful maternity care and abuse among women seeking maternity care services at the Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi. Methods: This study was conducted at the Kenyatta National Hos- pital maternity wards. A descriptive study design was employed and targeted 164 respondents. The study utilized an interviewer administered question- naire and an observational checklist to collect required data. Participants were sampled using simple random sampling method. Data was collected between July 15 th and July 30 th 2017 and was entered, cleaned and analyzed using SPSS 20. Results were presented in descriptive form, figures and tables. Results: Out of the targeted 164 participants, 152 (93%) women were interviewed during the study. The study found that women experienced at least some form of disrespect and abuse while seeking maternity care services at the Kenyatta National hospital. In general, prevalence of disrespectful maternity care and abuse ranged from 9% for discriminatory care to as high as 32% for non-privacy of care. Untimely care/abandonment of care was 22%, similar to non-consensual care (22%). Prevalence for non-confidential care was 28%. Majority of the women who experienced disrespect and abuse chose to resort to acquiescence whereby they just complied or kept quiet. The study found a strong association between marital status and physical abuse of women in la- bor 95% CI (P < 0.000) and level of education was found to be strongly asso- How to cite this paper: Atai, O.P., Inyama, H., Wakasiaka, S., Jebet, J. and Oyieke, J. (2018) Prevalence of Disrespectful Mater- nity Care and Abuse among Women Seeking Maternity Care Services at the Kenyatta Na- tional Hospital, Nairobi: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 8, 610-629. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojog.2018.86067 Received: May 6, 2018 Accepted: June 22, 2018 Published: June 25, 2018 Copyright © 2018 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access