Human rights and accessibility to maternal health services: a literature review from the perspective of humanized care.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63969/j122yf54Keywords:
human rights, maternal health, healthcare accessibility, equity, humanized careAbstract
Introduction: Maternal health is a fundamental human right whose protection requires accessible, timely, equitable health services that respect women's dignity. Objective: To analyze the guarantee of the human right to maternal health in terms of access to health services. Methodology: A qualitative bibliographic review with a descriptive-analytical scope was conducted. The documentary population consisted of 25 scientific articles; after applying eligibility criteria and methodological screening, 11 articles formed the final sample because they directly addressed the study objectives. For observational studies, STROBE was used as a supporting guide to assess completeness of reporting. Legal documents, laws, treaties, and regulatory sources were analyzed separately and were not included in the scientific sample. Results: Socioeconomic, geographical, cultural, and institutional inequalities were identified, together with barriers related to infrastructure, transportation, information, intercultural care, obstetric violence, and lack of informed consent. The legal analysis showed a gap between normative recognition and effective implementation. Jean Watson's Theory of Human Caring provided a framework for interpreting dignity, empathy, and humanized care as components of the right to health. Conclusions: Guaranteeing maternal health requires integrating accessibility, equity, human rights, interculturality, and humanized care into health policies and practices.
Downloads
References
Akter, S., Rich, J. L., Davies, K., & Inder, K. J. (2019). Access to maternal healthcare services among Indigenous women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study. BMJ Open, 9(10), e033224. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033224
Bedoya-Ruiz, L. A., Agudelo-Suárez, A. A., & Restrepo-Ochoa, D. A. (2020). Acceso de mujeres en embarazo, parto y post parto a servicios de salud según clase social. Salud UIS, 52(3), 285–294. https://doi.org/10.18273/revsal.v52n3-2020009
Cantor, A. G., Jungbauer, R. M., Skelly, A. C., Hart, E. L., Jorda, K., Davis-O’Reilly, C., Caughey, A. B., & Tilden, E. L. (2024). Respectful maternity care: A systematic review. Annals of Internal Medicine, 177(1), 50–64. https://doi.org/10.7326/M23-2676
Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos. (2010). Acceso a servicios de salud materna desde una perspectiva de derechos humanos (OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 69). Organización de los Estados Americanos. https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/mujeres/docs/pdf/saludmaterna2010.pdf
Dzomeku, V. M., Agyekum, T. P., Issah, I., et al. (2026). Respectful and dignified maternity care in West Africa: A systematic review of evidence, gaps, and implications for practice. Midwifery, 160, 104888. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2026.104888
Habib, H. H., Mwaisaka, J., Torpey, K., Maya, E. T., & Ankomah, A. (2023). Are respectful maternity care (RMC) interventions effective in reducing intrapartum mistreatment against adolescents? A systematic review. Frontiers in Global Women’s Health, 4, 1048441. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgwh.2023.1048441
Haghdoost, S., Iravani, M., & Rahmani, A. H. (2024). Midwives’ experience of respectful maternity care globally: A meta-synthesis. Nursing Ethics, 31(5), 951–979. https://doi.org/10.1177/09697330231218346
Hakimi, S., Allahqoli, L., Alizadeh, M., Özdemir, M., Soori, H., Çeber Turfan, E., Soğukpınar, N., & Alkatout, I. (2025). Global prevalence and risk factors of obstetric violence: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics, 169(3), 1012–1024. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.16145
Kasaye, H., Sheehy, A., Scarf, V., & Baird, K. (2023). The roles of multi-component interventions in reducing mistreatment of women and enhancing respectful maternity care: A systematic review. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 23, 305. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-023-05640-3
Kassie, A. M., Eakin, E., Endalamaw, A., Zewdie, A., Wolka, E., & Assefa, Y. (2024). Effective coverage of maternal and neonatal healthcare services in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review. BMC Health Services Research, 24, 1601. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-12085-7
Lunda, P., Minnie, C. S., & Lubbe, W. (2024). Factors influencing respectful perinatal care among healthcare professionals in low- and middle-resource countries: A systematic review. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 24, 442. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-024-06625-6
Mira-Catalá, P., Hernández-Aguado, I., & Chilet-Rosell, E. (2024). Respectful maternity care interventions to address women mistreatment in childbirth: What has been done? BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 24, 322. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-024-06524-w
Morgan, J., & Breau, G. M. (2024). Access to maternal health services for Indigenous women in low- and middle-income countries: An updated integrative review of the literature from 2018 to 2023. Rural and Remote Health, 24(2), 8520. https://doi.org/10.22605/RRH8520
Mpembeni, R. N. M., Kakoko, D. C. V., Aasen, H. S., & Helland, I. (2019). Realizing women’s right to maternal health: A study of awareness of rights and utilization of maternal health services among reproductive age women in two rural districts in Tanzania. PLOS ONE, 14(5), e0216027. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216027
O’Brien, E., & Rich, M. (2022). Obstetric violence in historical perspective. The Lancet, 399(10342), 2183–2185. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01022-4
Ojong, S. A., Temmerman, M., Khosla, R., & Bustreo, F. (2024). Women’s health and rights in the twenty-first century. Nature Medicine, 30(6), 1547–1555. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03036-0
Olwanda, E., Opondo, K., Oluoch, D., Croke, K., Maluni, J., Jepkosgei, J., & Nzinga, J. (2024). Women’s autonomy and maternal health decision making in Kenya: Implications for service delivery reform—A qualitative study. BMC Women’s Health, 24, 181. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-024-02965-9
Organización Mundial de la Salud. (2025). Compendium on respectful maternal and newborn care. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/b/78409
Sarikhani, Y., Najibi, S. M., & Razavi, Z. (2024). Key barriers to the provision and utilization of maternal health services in low- and lower-middle-income countries: A scoping review. BMC Women’s Health, 24, 325. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-024-03177-x
Tadesse, T., Dangisso, M. H., & Abebo, T. A. (2020). Sexual and reproductive health rights knowledge and reproductive health services utilization among rural reproductive age women in Aleta Wondo District, Sidama Zone, Ethiopia: Community-based cross-sectional study. BMC International Health and Human Rights, 20, 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12914-020-00223-1
Watson, J. (2008). Nursing: The philosophy and science of caring (Rev. ed.). University Press of Colorado. https://upcolorado.com/university-press-of-colorado/item/3633-nursing
Williams, C. R., & Meier, B. M. (2019). Ending the abuse: The human rights implications of obstetric violence and the promise of rights-based policy to realise respectful maternity care. Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 27(1), 9–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/26410397.2019.1691899
Yalley, A. A. (2024). Layers of inequality: Gender, medicalisation and obstetric violence in Ghana. International Journal for Equity in Health, 23, 243. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-024-02331-z
Yamin, A. E., Bottini Filho, L., & Gianella Malca, C. (2024). Analysing governments’ progress on the right to health. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 102(5), 307–313. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.23.290184
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Yulissa Isabel Nieto Sáez (Autor/a)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Los artículos publicados en la revista se distribuyen bajo la licencia Creative Commons Atribución 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0). Esta licencia permite a terceros descargar, copiar, distribuir, adaptar y reutilizar una obra, incluso con fines comerciales, siempre que se otorgue el crédito adecuado al autor original.
