Childbirth in exile: Asylum seeking women's experience of childbirth in Ireland

Irish midwives' experiences of providing maternity care to non-Irish women seeking asylum

“…There appeared to be a predisposition towards considering African women as “wonderful breast feeders”, which had a detrimental impact on African women who have difficulty and needed breast-feeding support 31. They were also disapproving if women chose to mix feed.…”

“…The data are a subset from a larger study that explored women’s experiences of childbirth in Ireland while in the asylum process, the findings of which are published elsewhere 1. Immigration and asylum seeking have been important social phenomena in Ireland since the mid 1990s.…”

“…This term carries with it connotations of the need to prove oneself a true refugee, which impacts negatively on society’s view of those in the asylum process, and also on the perceptions of midwives and other providers who care for them 16,17. This has a detrimental effect on women’s experiences, increasing stigma, fear, and marginalization 1,18…”

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

“…Although communication and language barriers between clients and healthcare workers are prevalent, few studies document what healthcare workers do when they encounter language obstacles (Kale and Syed, 2010). Tobin et al (2014) carried out a study to explore the childbirth experience of ethnic minority women in Ireland and found that whilst women commented positively on the kindness and care they received from healthcare providers, there was an evident lack of education and awareness of staff which was complicated at times by ignorance.…”

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AbstractDespite professional expectations for midwives to provide care to women that is founded in equality and recognises diversity (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2015), women from ethnic minority populations consistently suggest that they are not heard (Briscoe and Lavender, 2009;Tobin et al, 2014

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