To describe aspects that create positive experiences for emergency obstetric care (EmOC) clients in public health facilities in Ethiopia. Design: A qualitative contextual descriptive phenomenological design was used in this study. Subjects and setting: In-depth interviews were conducted with women who had complications during childbirth and received EmOC in three hospitals in Addis Ababa. Outcome measures: Content analysis was used to analyse data as it complies with the phenomenological data analysis. The data were analysed using the Atlas ti version 6.2 qualitative data analysis software. Results: Care that is life-saving, safe, timely, responsive and given in a clean environment, where the service carers show humility, respect, equal treatment and encouragement in an effort to meet the clients' needs and expectations, creates a good experience. Conclusion: Clients' experiences during the provision of EmOC influence their future decisions on whether to seek care or not. The findings of the study along with the developed guidelines will assist in the improvement of the provision and utilisation of EmOC at public health facilities in Ethiopia.

Objective: To describe aspects that create positive experiences for emergency obstetric care (EmOC) clients in public health facilities in Ethiopia.Design: A qualitative contextual descriptive phenomenological design was used in this study.Subjects and setting: In-depth interviews were conducted with women who had complications during childbirth and received EmOC in three hospitals in Addis Ababa.Outcome measures: Content analysis was used to analyse data as it complies with the phenomenological data analysis. The data were analysed using the Atlas ti version 6.2 qualitative data analysis software.Results: Care that is life-saving, safe, timely, responsive and given in a clean environment, where the service carers show humility, respect, equal treatment and encouragement in an effort to meet the clients’ needs and expectations, creates a good experience.Conclusion: Clients’ experiences during the provision of EmOC influence their future decisions on whether to seek care or not. The findings of the study along with the developed guidelines will assist in the improvement of the provision and utilisation of EmOC at public health facilities in Ethiopia.