UK maternity care experiences of ethnic minority and migrant women: Systematic review

Abstract

BackgroundThe increasing population of immigrant and migrant women in the United Kingdom has implications to the provision of healthcare and for healthcare experiences. Eliciting women's experiences and perceptions of maternity care received is an important way of monitoring and evaluating the quality of maternity services. This study was designed to explore the maternity care experiences of ethnic minority and migrant women in the United Kingdom.MethodsA literature search for relevant studies was carried across seven databases. We included nine studies carried out between 2015 and February 2022 that met the inclusion criteria. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis approach.ResultsFindings showed that ethnic minority women and migrant women have had mixed experiences while utilizing maternity services in the United Kingdom. However, most of the experiences were negative and included issues related to communication, discrimination, culture, access to care, physical comfort, and continuity of care. Only one of the studies reported that the respondents had a wholly positive communication experience, one found that a few women felt the staff were respectful and one reported that the midwives gave the women treatment options that would respect their cultural and religious beliefs.ConclusionThis study has highlighted some important gaps in the maternity care experiences specific to ethnic minority and migrant women in the United Kingdom which provides useful insights to future policy and clinical practice.

Parental migration, socioeconomic deprivation and hospital admissions in preschool children: national cohort study

“…This reflects quantitative and qualitative studies of the perinatal period, which report mixed experiences of healthcare and child health outcomes in the UK across migrant women. 38,39 Evidence of poorer early childhood health for children of mothers born in South Asia, particularly Pakistan, including increased risk of low birthweight, preterm birth and congenital anomalies, 40,41 fits with the relatively high emergency and planned hospital admission rates shown here. However, poor early life outcomes are also reported in the UK for women born in Africa, including high rates of infant mortality, 42 sits in contrast to the relatively low emergency hospital admission rates for children of mothers born in Sub-Saharan Africa in this study.…”