Mistreatment and harassment by health workers has seen a surge in the number of pregnant women opting to deliver at home.

Statitstics from the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) show that at least 1,000 women give birth every day in the country, with over 90 births taking place at home.

The 2014-2015 Rwanda Demographic Health Survey (DHS) indicates that 9 percent of births in the country take place at home, with women in rural areas being the worst hit. However, educated women living in urban areas are able to access maternity wings of private hospitals, but some decide to give birth at home.

In private hospitals, the women have access to the latest technological equipment, with consultant gynaecologists, anaesthetists and paediatricians at hand to receive their babies.

But while they can pay for the hospital bills in private hospitals, many still choose to deliver at home.

Thirty-four-year-old Ester Nyombayire is an accountant consultant with a foreign-based donor organisation in Rwanda. The mother of four delivered three of her children at home, however, the fourth child was delivered in a hospital.

“From the experience of the abuse that had happened to my older sister while giving birth in one of the Kigali’s Teaching Hospitals, I set myself to deliver at home because by then I was five months pregnant for the firstborn,” said Ms Nyombayire. Ms Nyombayire said after regularly attending to all her antenatal clinics, and also attended private birth classes, she gained confidence that she could deliver at home.

“Only educated and civilised mothers give birth from private hospitals where services are good because they are profit-oriented mostly, vulnerable pregnant women in public hospitals are highly subjected to suffering and abuse by nurses and midwives during child labour and childbirth,” said Ms Nyombayire.

Ms Nyombayire added that she dlivered her fourth child in hospitals because while at home labour continued for too long, forcing her to seek professional help.

Alice Muhoza said that in many public hospitals mothers are either denied rights to positive childbirth experience which includes, respect and dignity.