BackgroundUnderstanding immigrant women’s experiences of maternity care is critical if receiving country care systems are to respond appropriately to increasing global migration. This systematic review aimed to compare what we know about immigrant and non-immigrant women’s experiences of maternity care.MethodsMedline, CINAHL, Health Star, Embase and PsychInfo were searched for the period 1989–2012. First, we retrieved population-based studies of women’s experiences of maternity care (n = 12). For countries with identified population studies, studies focused specifically on immigrant women’s experiences of care were also retrieved (n = 22). For all included studies, we extracted available data on experiences of care and undertook a descriptive comparison.ResultsWhat immigrant and non-immigrant women want from maternity care proved similar: safe, high quality, attentive and individualised care, with adequate information and support. Immigrant women were less positive about their care than non-immigrant women. Communication problems and lack of familiarity with care systems impacted negatively on immigrant women’s experiences, as did perceptions of discrimination and care which was not kind or respectful.ConclusionFew differences were found in what immigrant and non-immigrant women want from maternity care. The challenge for health systems is to address the barriers immigrant women face by improving communication, increasing women’s understanding of care provision and reducing discrimination.

BackgroundThrough the World Health Assembly Resolution, ‘Health of Migrants’, the international community has identified migrant health as a priority. Recommendations for general hospital care for international migrants in receiving-countries have been put forward by the Migrant Friendly Hospital Initiative; adaptations of these recommendations specific to maternity care have yet to be elucidated and validated. We aimed to develop a questionnaire measuring migrant-friendly maternity care (MFMC) which could be used in a range of maternity care settings and countries.MethodsThis study was conducted in four stages. First, questions related to migrant friendly maternity care were identified from existing questionnaires including the Migrant Friendliness Quality Questionnaire, developed in Europe to capture recommended general hospital care for migrants, and the Mothers In a New Country (MINC) Questionnaire, developed in Australia and revised for use in Canada to capture the maternity care experiences of migrant women, and combined to create an initial MFMC questionnaire. Second, a Delphi consensus process in three rounds with a panel of 89 experts in perinatal health and migration from 17 countries was undertaken to identify priority themes and questions as well as to clarify wording and format. Third, the draft questionnaire was translated from English to French and Spanish and back-translated and subsequently culturally validated (assessed for cultural appropriateness) by migrant women. Fourth, the questionnaire was piloted with migrant women who had recently given birth in Montreal, Canada.ResultsA 112-item questionnaire on maternity care from pregnancy, through labour and birth, to postpartum care, and including items on maternal socio-demographic, migration and obstetrical characteristics, and perceptions of care, has been created - the Migrant Friendly Maternity Care Questionnaire (MFMCQ) – in three languages (English, French and Spanish). It is completed in 45 minutes via interview administration several months post-birth.ConclusionsA 4-stage process of questionnaire development with international experts in migrant reproductive health and research resulted in the MFMCQ, a questionnaire measuring key aspects of migrant-sensitive maternity care. The MFMCQ is available for further translation and use to examine and compare care and perceptions of care within and across countries, and by key socio-demographic, migration, and obstetrical characteristics of migrant women.

On the basis of this study, we can conclude that FGM is a serious clinical problem in Europe for migrant women from risk countries for FGM. These women should receive extra attention from obstetricians and midwives during childbirth, since almost half are mutilated and FGM involves a risk of complications during delivery for both women and children.

No abstract

No abstract

Background: Every year approximately 10,000 babies are born in Suriname of which an estimated 400 die in the perinatal period. The main purpose of the Perisur project is to improve perinatal outcomes and improve under-five and maternal health. This study focused on introducing preconception care in Suriname.

Infertility treatments are difficult to understand, and doubly so for migrants because of religious and language factors. Previous studies showed that religion plays an important role in infertility care for Muslim couples that doctors do not always understand. The data presented here come from two exploratory studies that aimed to identify the main problems with infertility care for Turkish and Moroccan couples living in the Netherlands. In the first study, 105 Turkish, Moroccan and Dutch men and women were interviewed. In the second study, twenty general practitioners, gynaecologists and andrologists were interviewed by telephone. Additionally, three gynaecologists were interviewed in Morocco. A thematic analysis was conducted of the qualitative data. Almost all migrants had experienced problems with infertility treatments because they felt insecure about what was allowed by their religion. Moroccan men in particular doubt whether Dutch doctors are sufficiently acquainted with Islam and so they turn to Morocco for information and advice. Men stick to the rules and their agency is to follow the dictates of their religion. Women seem willing to be more flexible about the rules and navigate their agency. Doctors assumed that they took the religion of their patients into account, but they were not always fully aware of the importance of religious prohibitions. Others failed to take into account the agency of their patients. Conclusion: The situation in a new country challenges couples to shape their own agency in respect of reproductive treatment. Doctors are not always aware of the importance of religious doctrine about infertility treatment.