Increased risk of maternal death among ethnic minority women in the UK

Abstract

Key content:• The most recent CEMACH report indicates that the UK maternal mortality rate has not fallen in recent years.• This was attributed, in part, to increasing numbers of deaths amongst immigrant women.• It is likely that newly-arrived refugees are affected most. Learning objectives:• To be able to identify the factors contributing to the increased maternal mortality and morbidity.• To review the published evidence for effectiveness of interventions.• To identify appropriate research groups and organisations. Ethical issues:• There is evidence to suggest that the care given to women from ethnic minority backgrounds, especially asylum seekers and newly-arrived refugees, is substandard.Keywords access to care / ethnic minority women / maternity services / refugees / travellersPlease cite this article as: Ameh CA, van den Broek N. Increased risk of maternal death among ethnic minority women in the UK .

Immigrant women's experience of maternity services in Canada: A meta-ethnography

“…A previous report has indicated that potential barriers for receiving effective Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/midw Midwifery health care in the United Kingdom (UK), Canada and Germany may include cultural misunderstandings, communication problems and racism (Salway et al, 2011). Other international studies include those in the United Kingdom (UK) looking at variables related to maternal morbidity and mortality (Ameh and Van den Broek, 2008;Knight et al, 2009) which found that black and ethnic minority women who do not access or receive optimal care can have higher risk of morbidity and death, partly due to factors related to care during pregnancy, labour, and birth. Maternity care in the UK, from the perspectives of immigrant Muslim women, was insensitive to women's needs because of the lack of knowledge by some health care professionals (Ali and Burchett, 2004).…”

An Intersection of Two Life Changes in Social-Science Research on Women's Health

“…Ameh, van den Broek 2008;Andrulis, Goodman, Pryor 2002;Bischoff et al 2003;Small et al 2014;Phillimore, Thornhill 2010;Rice, Naksook 1998;Rice, Naksook, Watson 1999]. Andrulis et al [2002] na základě svých zjištění tvrdí, že cizinky, které užívají služeb profesionálního tlumočení, mají pozitivnější zkuše-nost se zdravotní péčí v porovnání s ženami, které překlad nevyužijí.…”

“…Mnoho studií [např. Balaam et al 2013;Alderliesten et al 2008;Ameh, van den Broek 2008;Castelló et al 2012;Puthussery 2016;Phillimore 2015;Phillimore, Thornhill 2010] zdůrazňuje, že migrantky vstupují do systému péče výrazně později a setrvávají v něm po kratší dobu v porovnání s nativní-mi ženami. Tento opožděný vstup je vysvětlován právě jazykovými bariérami a komunikačními obtížemi, nedostatečnou informovaností a neefektivní či necitlivou komunikací [Phillimore, Thornhill 2010;Andrulis, Goodman, Pryor 2002;Puthussery 2016;Almeida et al 2014;Mcleish 2005].…”

“…I jiné výzkumy [např. Ameh, van den Broek 2008;Bischoff et al 2003] udávají, že migrantky přijímají méně kvalitní a neoptimální péči než nativní ženy. Yelland et al [2015] zjistili, že v Austrálii přibližně polovina migrantek nehovořících anglicky vyjadřuje nespokojenost s kvalitou péče.…”

Supporting an ethnic minority woman's choice for pain relief in labour: A reflection

“…There are consistent messages which suggest these women do not receive optimal care and thus have a high risk of morbidity and death (Ameh and van de Broek, 2008).…”