Shared decision-making in maternity care in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Background: Shared decision-making (SDM) in maternity care involves women actively in decisions, thereby reducing decisional conflicts and enhancing satisfaction with care. Aim: To investigate SDM and the factors associated with it, and its correlation with respect in maternity care in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A comprehensive, nationwide online questionnaire-based study was conducted between January to May 2023, involving women aged 18 years and above who were either pregnant or had experienced pregnancy/childbirth in the past 12 months. The Mothers’ Autonomy in Decision-Making (MADM) scale and the Mothers of Respect Index (MORi) were used. Low to very low SDM was defined as a score of ≤ 24 on the MADM and low to very low respected was defined as a score of ≤ 49 on the MORi. Results: A total of 505 women completed the survey. Low to very low SDM was reported by 137 (34.1 %, 95 confidence interval (CI), 29.6 % - 38.9 %) women. Factors significantly associated with low to very low SDM included seeing different obstetricians of different gender at each visit (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.0, 95 % CI, 1.0 – 3.9), not meeting the same obstetrician throughout the pregnancy (AOR 2.6, 95 % CI, 1.2 – 5.6) and having an instrumental vaginal birth (AOR 6.67, 95 % CI, 1.6 - 28.1). There was a positive association between low to very SDM and feeling of low to very low respect ((χ2 = 83.8173, p < 0.001). Conclusion: More than one-third of women experienced low to very low SDM in maternity care. This should alert healthcare providers to the importance of continuity of care in Saudi Arabia.