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On provision of care, On experience of care, Related to resources, almost half of the women reported an inadequate number of healthcare professionals Our study showed several gaps in QMNC in Belgium, underlying causes of these gaps should be explored to design appropriate interventions and policies. A strength of this study is the use of a validated data collection tool, based on WHO standards, allowing for a comprehensive assessment of quality of maternal and newborn care QMNC around childbirth and comparison across countries.
Childbirth should be a positive experience, ensuring women and their babies reach their full potential for health and well-being. TMTS identifies care characterised by over-medicalisation, including the use of non-evidence-based interventions or interventions not appropriate for the case. In Belgium, the quality of maternal and newborn health has been mainly explored focusing on clinical outcomes and the provision of care. Globally, studies have shown that COVIDβ19 negatively impacted the provision and experience of maternal and newborn healthcare, especially in the first year of the pandemic.
A cross-sectional observational study was conducted and reported according to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines and the checklist can be found in online supplemental material 1. As a secondary aim, trends over time were analysed for the different subdomains. This paper presents only the data collected from Belgium. Two versions of the questionnaire were available, one tailored for women who experienced labour and one for women who did not eg, women with caesarean section before labour started.
