La Maison Bleue: Strengthening resilience among migrant mothers living in Montreal, Canada

Abstract

Introduction La Maison Bleue is a community-based perinatal health and social centre in Montreal that provides services during pregnancy up to age five to families living in vulnerable contexts. The study aimed to describe: 1) the challenges and protective factors that affect the well-being of migrant families receiving care at La Maison Bleue; and 2) how La Maison Bleue strengthens resilience among these families. Methods We conducted a focused ethnography. Immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers and undocumented migrants were invited to participate. We collected data from November to December 2017 via semi-structured interviews and participant observation during group activities at La Maison Bleue. Data were thematically analysed. Results Twenty-four mothers participated (9 interviewed, 17 observed). Challenges to well-being included family separation, isolation, loss of support, the immigration process, an unfamiliar culture and environment, and language barriers. Key protective factors were women’s intrinsic drive to overcome difficulties, their positive outlook and ability to find meaning in their adversity, their faith, culture and traditions, and supportive relationships, both locally and transnationally. La Maison Bleue strengthened resilience by providing a safe space, offering holistic care that responded to both medical and psychosocial needs, and empowering women to achieve their full potential towards better health for themselves and their families. Conclusion Migrant mothers have many strengths and centres like La Maison Bleue can offer a safe space and be an empowering community resource to assist mothers in overcoming the multiple challenges that they face while resettling and raising their young children in a new country.

Transnationalism and care of migrant families during pregnancy, postpartum and early-childhood: an integrative review

“…The five remaining papers examined care or programs that spanned the periods of maternity and early-childhood (see Tables 3 and 4). These included: three that examined asylum seeker and refugee mothers' experiences accessing various health and social services during pregnancy and early motherhood [81,91,110]; two of these [91,110] also considered the perspectives of healthcare professionals, and one also included the experiences of fathers [110]; one article that inquired on mothers' experiences at a community based perinatal health and social centre which provides medical and psychosocial care to families living in vulnerable contexts from pregnancy up to age five [31]; and another paper that explored the experiences of community workers who provide care and support to refugee and asylum seeker mothers in the perinatal and post-birth periods [54].…”

“…Other forms of transnational ties (i.e., 'ways of being') were mentioned in fewer papers. This included references to families worrying about relatives, including children who remained in the home country [54,55,59,60,67,86,105] and families staying connected via phone/ communication technologies and/or visits as a source of social and emotional support, to maintain cultural identity, and/or for assistance with childcare [21,22,31,48,49,67,69,85,90,95,96,102,105]. It also included families sending money back home [105], women seeking healthcare in their country to give birth [21], and families using transnational networks to obtain advice and health information-partly due to local care not being adapted [21,49,88,94,96,105].…”

“…Migrants may rely on advice from family members for staying healthy during pregnancy and postpartum, for parenting (e.g., nutrition, discipline, socialization) and for resolving family conflicts [ 24 , 25 ]. Family and friends back home may also provide emotional support and childcare either for children who remained behind, or for infants/children who are sent to the home country temporarily [ 15 , 16 , 28 – 31 ]. Health services may also be accessed for reasons of cost or cultural acceptability, and work/business activities may be an additional source of income [ 21 , 32 – 34 ].…”

“…During this period families may interact with a range of care-providers (e.g., nurses, doctors, social-workers, educators) in various settings such as hospitals, clinics/health centers, early childhood programs and community organizations. Some may be involved in specialized programs which aim specifically to support more vulnerable families, particularly in the context of adapting to a new culture and language [ 31 ]. General care as well as specialized programs may offer services to enhance parenting skills, foster child development, promote a healthy lifestyle, and provide social connection for families experiencing isolation [ 31 , 39 – 42 ].…”

“…Some may be involved in specialized programs which aim specifically to support more vulnerable families, particularly in the context of adapting to a new culture and language [ 31 ]. General care as well as specialized programs may offer services to enhance parenting skills, foster child development, promote a healthy lifestyle, and provide social connection for families experiencing isolation [ 31 , 39 – 42 ]. In this literature review, we sought to determine what is known regarding transnational ties and the health and social care of migrant parents/families during pregnancy, postpartum and early childhood in Western, high-income countries.…”