Vulnerable Neonates (and Their Families) Deserve Respectful Care

Abstract

Respectful maternity care (RMC) is a topic that has received increasing focus among clinicians, researchers, and the public in recent years. While clinicians recognize the importance of respectful care, patients report that they are not consistently receiving it. The Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) created the RMC Framework, Evidence-Based Guidelines and Implementation Toolkit to provide nursing teams with the knowledge, tools, and structures they need to promote RMC. For true change to happen, the implementation of respectful care must be translated across the maternity care continuum, including in the NICU. This article shares a health care organization's journey toward respectful, equitable maternity care for women, neonates, and their families. This article outlines the AWHONN RMC Framework and the leverage of its components to promote RMC for neonates and their families in the NICU. The outcomes of these efforts are also highlighted.

Keywords: NICU care; education; ethics; evidence-based practice; family; quality improvement.