A qualitative review of migrant women’s perceptions of their needs and experiences related to pregnancy and childbirth.
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Aim: A synthesis of the evidence of migrant women's perceptions of their needs and experiences in relation to pregnancy and childbirth. Background: Despite the fact that all European Union member states have ratified human rights‐based resolutions aimed at non‐discrimination, there is a relationship between social inequality and access to pre‐, intra‐, and postpartum care. Design: A qualitative systematic review of studies from European countries. Data sources: A search was made for relevant articles published between January 1996–June 2010. Review methods: Data were analysed by means of thematic synthesis. Results: Sixteen articles were selected, analysed, and synthesized. One overall theme; ‘Preserving one's integrity in the new country’ revealed two key aspects; ‘Struggling to find meaning’ and ‘Caring relationships’. ‘Struggling to find meaning’ comprised four sub‐themes; ‘Communication and connection’, ‘Striving to cope and manage’, ‘Struggling to achieve a safe pregnancy and childbirth’, and ‘Maintaining bodily integrity’. ‘Caring relationships’ was based on the following three sub‐themes: ‘Sources of strength’, ‘Organizational barriers to maternity care’, and ‘The nature and quality of caring relationships’. Conclusion: The results of this review demonstrate that migrant women are in a vulnerable situation when pregnant and giving birth and that their access to health services must be improved to better meet their needs. Research is required to develop continuity of care and improve integrated maternal care.
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For women in migrant populations the choice of mode of birth is frequently limited due to barriers relating to language, culture, cost, documentation, and lack of health insurance.
“For women in migrant populations the choice is frequently limited due to barriers relating to language, culture, cost, documentation, and lack of health insurance [19, 20].”
From Comparison of perinatal outcome and mode of birth of twin and singleton pregnancies in migrant and refugee populations on the Thai Myanmar border: A population cohort (2024) · cites this paper as [19]
The review reports cultural and language barriers to maternity care in its findings and identifies cost and health-insurance arrangements as potential barriers in the Discussion (page numbers unavailable). It does not establish that these barriers frequently limit women’s choice of mode of birth, or identify documentation as a barrier to that choice. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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- Authors
- Balaam, M., Akerjordet, K., Lyberg, A., Kaiser, B., Schoening, E., Fredriksen, A., Ensel, A., Gouni, O., & Severinsson, E.
- Affiliations
- University of Lancashire (GB)
- University of Wollongong (AU)
- Vestfold University College (NO)
- Department of Midwifery University of Applied Sciences Geneva Switzerland
- German Agency for Technical Corporation (GTZ GmbH) Eschborn Germany
- Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (DE)
- Hellenic Union for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Medicine Athens Greece
- Corresponding author
- Balaam, Marie‐Clare
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Advanced Nursing
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2013-04-08
- Volume
- 69
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1919-1930
- ISSN
- 0309-2402 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-2648
- OpenAlex
- W2033853660
- Cited by
- 144
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 7
- FWCI
- 0.93
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Advanced Nursing (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- CLOK (University of Central Lancashire) (acceptedVersion)
- Research Online (University of Wollongong) (submittedVersion)
- ArODES (HES-SO (https://www.hes-so.ch/)) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Migration, Identity, and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Obstetrics and Gynecology › Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions
- Keywords
- migrant women, pregnancy, childbirth, maternal care, access to maternal health services, bodily integrity, care relationships, social inequality, non-discrimination, continuity of care
- MeSH terms
- Female, Health Services Needs and Demand, Humans, Pregnancy, Transients and Migrants, Women, Parturition
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