Introduction: Throughout the Women’s health from adolescence to reproductive years, pregnancy, childbirth, postnatal period depends largely on the quality of health care provided by the health care workers especially nurses in different health care delivery settings. As per UNICEF reports 260000 maternal deaths were reported in 2023, even though there is a 40% decline in MMR, which highlights the need for focus on maternal health care and overcoming the deficiencies in providing maternal health services. As per WHO report many women still face disrespectful maternity care and abusive treatment which suggests that numerical gains don’t guarantee quality. Respectful maternity care (RMC) focuses on dignity, privacy, effective communication, and compassionate support throughout pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and the postpartum phase. Emotional Intelligence plays a critical role in respectful maternity care where it develop the capacity of nurses to recognise, understand , manage emotions. EI also helps to maintain dignity and improve client experiences when providing maternal health care services. In the field of nursing, EI supports essential skills such as empathy, resilience, conflict resolution, and effective communication, making it particularly relevant to women’s health and the provision of respectful care. This review aims to identify the theoretical and practical connections between EI and women’s health, and integrates evidence that will aid WHO’s mission to implement respectful maternal and newborn care in various contexts.

Emotional Intelligence in Nursing and Respectful Maternity care: Conceptual Foundations and Relevance: EI includes a set of competencies like empathy, communication, self-awareness, self-regulation, managing and understanding others emotion, social skills and motivation. EI skills are essential for nurses in clinical environments which will enable them to manage emotionally intensive situations, build supportive relationships and team work, and develop empathy towards clients. These skills are particularly crucial in women’s health settings where emotions, cultural expectations, and vulnerability overlap. A study published in BMC examines the relationship between emotional intelligence, self-efficacy, and perceived stress among nursing students in clinical practice. The study found that higher emotional intelligence is positively linked to clinical competence, stress management, and self-efficacy, indicating that emotional intelligence is vital not only for clinical proficiency but also for psychological resilience and compassionate behaviour. A qualitative study conducted in Jordan aimed at exploring emotional intelligence and its effects on person-centred care shows that emotional intelligence improves empathy, teamwork, effective conflict resolution, and culturally sensitive interactions with patients, all contributing directly to person-centred care. Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) is bounded by human rights and WHO strongly supports this as an essential component of maternal health services. A recent article reports on the discrepancies in respectful maternity health care services and emphasis on the need of evidence based strategies and training to the health care workers to improve RMC . a study done in New Delhi among postpartum women of a tertiary care hospital reports that warmth, communication and empathy contributed to the positive perceptions of women and their experiences. They narrated that these aspects have provided warmth, value of care and satisfaction. In fact, patients’ testimonials about experiences of abuse in care during maternity have been common in almost every setting around the world. Data from a global survey illustrates the high percentages of mistreatment among pregnant women in the range of up to 1 in 5. This signifies the continued need for improvement in the aspects of care in spite of the enhanced access to care provided by an attending skilled birth attendant.

Emotional Intelligence among nurses and Women’s Health Services: The role of nurses in women's health is vital, particularly in low- and middle-income countries like India, where the doctor-to-patient ratio is low. Nurses are not only responsible for conducting health check-ups and providing health education and nutritional advice, but they also play an important role in community health education. Nurses can connect to women by building trust within the community and assist in providing services. Nurses can use emotional intelligence skills to develop therapeutic relationships with the women by understanding their emotional and cultural backgrounds. The nurses can also build a strong rapport with different team members and community partners to ensure women health. These steps will ensure equity in health care delivery systems and increase the utilisation of maternal health care services. Nurses role go beyond the traditional outlook which significantly have an impact on the well-being and women and community in large. Women's health services go far beyond medical care, they with some personal and meaningful moments of their life. Family planning, prenatal visits, childbirth assistance, postnatal support, and guidance on reproductive health; the health care provider not just delivering education but compassionate care. Woman comes to the health care provider with their own fear, anxiety and experiences and Many women feel anxious, shy, or even embarrassed during these visits, which is shaped by cultural traditions or social expectations. In these situations the skill of the health care provider matters but skill alone will not provide a safe space for the women. They need expert listeners, kindness and understanding. When care is delivered with empathy and respect, women feel secured and satisfied. This will help nurses to understand their real concerns and needs and women too will take an active role for their health and wellbeing. This will lead to outcome moreover it builds trust, confidence and improved compliance and utilisation of health care services Fear of childbirth among pregnant women in Iran was explored from 152 women and found that child birth attitude, social support and childbirth self-efficacy correlates with fear of child birth. The study identified that age, education of women and spouse and preferred delivery significantly predict FOC. The results of this study can help healthcare providers identify and screen women at risk of experiencing fear of childbirth and can take measures to reduce this fear and its negative effects, thereby easing the delivery process. Research reports that women are afraid or shy to talk on cervical cancer, pelvic health and this can hinder the timely health care which is needed. Systemic challenges are also reported by the women which prevents them in accessing the services. Through compassionate care and clear communication, these barriers can be addressed. A scoping review of 87 articles on information needs regarding Cervical Cancer screening participation and HPV vaccination of immigrant women was conducted. The barriers identified were taboos, lack of trust, cultural norms and values regarding sexual activity which are the emotional , cultural and practical aspects. Nurses with high emotional intelligence are particularly capable of recognizing emotional cues, building rapport, and responding with kindness and respect, leading to better adherence to care protocols and improved health outcomes. Recent research conducted in Egypt, which investigated the connections between sexual health literacy, emotional intelligence, and self-efficacy in sexual communication among nursing students. The study highlighted that emotional intelligence may play a mediating role in fostering more effective client-provider conversations on sensitive issues among married students, such as sexual health and communication self-efficacy. A systematic review done in 2025 identified that emotional intelligence can positively influence the quality of care provided by the nurses. It highlighted the importance of applying emotional intelligence skills in nursing practice. 

Evidences from own study: An experimental study was conducted among 198 nurses working in different health care settings, primary, secondary and tertiary. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of emotional intelligence skill training among nurses on emotional intelligence, empathy and interprofessional communication. The study found that the training had a statistically significant effect on these outcome variables. in tertiary level there was significant improvement which was consistent on 45th day after intervention on the 3 outcome variables. In primary level protective effect of the training program was found and in secondary level significant improvement was noticed in empathy and emotional intelligence. Correlational analysis established positive correlations between emotional intelligence, empathy and interprofessional communication. Overall, the findings provide strong evidence that structured emotional intelligence skill training can effectively strengthen professional competencies among nurses across all levels of healthcare. These outcomes carry significant implications for women’s health services and the delivery of respectful maternity care (RMC), where empathy, emotional awareness, and effective teamwork form the foundation of compassionate, high-quality care. RMC has its strong built up on empathy, compassion, effective communication , dignity autonomy and support. As evident from the study results EI training will help nurses to develop the competencies which are essential to provide RMC. This training will help nurses to identify, manage and respond to the emotional cues of women during their vulnerable times. Nurses with higher emotional intelligence will deliver a non-judgemental , respectful and culturally sensitive care. IPC will help in preventing fragmented care by the health care team members and prevent situations where comprised patient outcomes happens in maternity and women health. EI also helps nurses to remain calm and focused in stress induced situations, will lessen depersonalisation and develop courteous communications and therapeutic relationships which are necessary for dignified maternity care. The nurses in primary level are the ones who take up majority of the maternal health care services independently and study showed a positive impact on EI training on the outcome variables of primary care nurses. This shows that through EI training primary nurses can be the women’s first and most reliable point of contact and they can understand and address the cultural and social barriers affecting women in terms of prenatal care, family planning, postnatal care, adolescent health etc. The strong positive correlations found between interprofessional communication, emotional intelligence, and empathy demonstrate how these concepts are interrelated in nursing practice. These relationships are especially significant in the context of women's health because emotionally intelligent nurses are more likely to interact with women in an empathic manner while also effectively communicating with healthcare teams to guarantee continuity and safety of care. The results of this study empasise that structured EI skill training among nurses is an important strategy for enhancing the quality of women’s health services. By strengthening emotional intelligence, empathy, and interprofessional communication, these training helps nurses to address the clinical needs and emotional and psychosocial needs of women together. A holistic approach towards women’s health services will improve the equity of health care delivery , promote service utilisation and address the mental health issues and bring positive women’s experiences of care. Emotional intelligence training to be incorporated to the Continuing nursing education programs and maternity training programs which will be forming a practical mechanism for bringing respectful maternal care principles. Emotionally intelligent staff also helps in organisational benefits such as improved team work, reduced conflict , more retention of staffs and improve the over quality of patient care and satisfaction.

Conclusion: Emotional intelligence is a necessary skill for nurses that directly influences the quality of women’s health care, particularly considering the principles of respectful maternity care. Evidence from the study shows that EI training enhances empathy, communication, and professional collaboration skills essential for delivering dignified and woman-centred services. National initiatives, such as the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PSMA) in India, demonstrate how targeted antenatal care and community outreach can significantly improve maternal health. This article highlight that Emotional Intelligence skills should be imparted together with clinical skills to bring the highest quality of women care services. EI can be integrated inti nursing education, practice, and policy, which is important and desirable for advancing maternal health and achieving global health targets.

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