Newly Arrived Migrant Women’s Experience of Maternity Health Information: A Face-to-Face Questionnaire Study in Norway

Abstract

Limited understanding of health information may contribute to an increased risk of adverse maternal outcomes among migrant women. We explored factors associated with migrant women’s understanding of the information provided by maternity staff, and determined which maternal health topics the women had received insufficient coverage of. We included 401 newly migrated women (≤5 years) who gave birth in Oslo, excluding migrants born in high-income countries. Using a modified version of the Migrant Friendly Maternity Care Questionnaire, we face-to-face interviewed the women postnatally. The risk of poor understanding of the information provided by maternity staff was assessed in logistic regression models, presented as adjusted odds ratios (aORs), with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The majority of the 401 women were born in European and Central Asian regions, followed by South Asia and North Africa/the Middle East. One-third (33.4%) reported a poor understanding of the information given to them. Low Norwegian language proficiency, refugee status, no completed education, unemployment, and reported interpreter need were associated with poor understanding. Refugee status (aOR 2.23, 95% CI 1.01–4.91), as well as a reported interpreter need, were independently associated with poor understanding. Women who needed but did not get a professional interpreter were at the highest risk (aOR 2.83, 95% CI 1.59–5.02). Family planning, infant formula feeding, and postpartum mood changes were reported as the most frequent insufficiently covered topics. To achieve optimal understanding, increased awareness of the needs of a growing, linguistically diverse population, and the benefits of interpretation services in health service policies and among healthcare workers, are needed.

Migrant and Native Women’s Perceptions of Prenatal Care Communication Quality: The Role of Host Country Language Proficiency

“…In line with our ndings, Bains et al noted that limited host-country language pro ciency was associated with poorer perceived understanding of information (aOR 2.14, 95% CI (1.14-4.02)) when compared to high pro ciency [19]. It is worth noting that Bains et al also employed the MFMCQ in their research [19].…”

“…Language pro ciency is one of the most frequently documented barriers to the access and quality of prenatal care for migrant women [19]. Therefore, we focused on the role of language di culties in pregnant women's points of view about communication quality.…”

“…Studies of perceived patient-provider communication quality have demonstrated a link with a wide range of important and interrelated health outcomes, including health literacy, utilization and satisfaction with care, adherence to recommendations and treatments, future healthcare use and degree of engagement in decision-making, and, consequently, quality of life and emotional and physical health [8][9][10][11].Patient-provider communication quality can generally be in uenced by factors related to the patient such as age, gender, ethnicity/race, socioeconomic status, health literacy, self-e cacy, and perceived general health, and others related to healthcare such as quality and content of care, duration of consultations, attitudes of health providers, and continuity and trust in the relationship with a provider [12][13][14]. Migration background has also been associated with lower perceived quality of patient-provider communication [14][15][16].In the context of perinatal health, a recent review on involvement in maternal care by migrants and ethnic minorities concluded that migrants are more likely to experience communication di culties, and less likely to understand health professionals, obtain adequate information, express or have their preferences granted, and be involved in decisions about their perinatal health when compared to natives [17].Despite the potentially signi cant impact of women's perceptions of communication quality with their prenatal care providers on their perinatal health, evidence on those perceptions and their determinants is somewhat limited [18], particularly among migrant populations.Language pro ciency is one of the most frequently documented barriers to the access and quality of prenatal care for migrant women [19]. Therefore, we focused on the role of language di culties in pregnant women's points of view about communication quality.…”

Perinatal and Neonatal Outcomes in Immigrants From Conflict-Zone Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

“…However, due to multiple underlying reasons such as language and cultural barriers, and the policy and social systems in host countries, these women tend to initiate prenatal care lately and have fewer prenatal visits ( 66 ). It should be noted that many of these adverse outcomes not only have immediate adverse effects on neonates but also can have long-lasting consequences on the growth and development of the newborn well into adulthood ( 66 , 67 ).…”

Predictors of maternal role adaptation in Iranian women: a cross-sectional study

“…Economic status was determined as an essential predictive component and revealed that mothers with a higher financial situation are better adapted to the maternal role. While in other studies [ 35 , 36 ], no significant relationship was found between economic status and adaptation to motherhood. Adaptation to motherhood is an emotional dimension, and due to the importance of motherhood, factors such as economics do not seem to impact women's maternal identity significantly.…”