Perinatal care experiences of immigrant Syrian women: a qualitative phenomenological study

Abstract

Background: Adverse birth outcomes of immigrant women and neonates are associated with the quality of perinatal care. For this reason, examining immigrant women’s experiences of perinatal care is necessary if host country care systems are to respond appropriately to migration. Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate the perinatal care experiences of immigrant women. Methods: The qualitative phenomenological design used in the study enabled to make an in-depth exploration of immigrant women's experiences. The participants were 24 women who had a pregnancy within the past 6 months and lived in Adana, Turkey, between September and December 2019. Data were collected using a semi-structured form through the snowball method. Qualitative data were analysed using the thematic analysis method. Results: The participants’ mean age was 21.41 [standard deviation (SD) 3.86] years. Mean age at first pregnancy was 17.27 (SD 4.59) years. It was determined that immigrant women received insufficient maternity services. In thematic analysis, 4 main themes indicating barriers to sufficient perinatal care were identified. The barriers to maternal care services were: language barrier, cultural incompatibility, decreased social support and inadequate information. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that perinatal care for immigrant women was inadequate and their experiences were generally negative. Although the barriers seem separate, they are actually intertwined, with the language barrier appearing to be the main one. Innovative approaches are needed to solve this problem. Mobile applications that translate instantly can be used by both immigrant women and health care professionals.

Perinatal experiences of resettled Syrian migrant women in Greece-a qualitative study

“…They have a difficulty in taking blood, someone should teach them". Our findings indicated that perinatal care for immigrant women was partly inadequate and their experiences were not positive, something that came in accordance with other research findings [9]. Respecting women's religion and their cultural elements is one of the most important topics that arose from this interview.…”

Características do acesso aos serviços de saúde por refugiadas durante gravidez e puerpério: revisão integrativa

“…Os estudos evidenciaram dificuldades econômicas, falta de apoio social, problemas de locomoção e de comunicação com baixo letramento junto aos profissionais de saúde. A xenofobia, as diferenças culturais e a barreira do idioma representaram os principais desafios e interferiu negativamente na experiência da gestação (Abdin, 2018;Ahmed et al,2017;Henry et al, 2020;Dadras et al, 2020;Vurgec et al, 2021;Owens et al, 2016;Riggs et al, 2020).…”

“…Dois estudos com refugiadas e migrantes desta revisão apresentaram iniciativas pontuais de sucesso que favoreceram o acesso delas aos serviços de saúde como, por exemplo, a implantação de sistemas de apoio que obtiveram resultados satisfatórios ao proporcionarem maior adesão de mulheres à amamentação e outro programa que ofereceu assistência de saúde a mulheres refugiadas que desejaram abortar de forma segura e assistida (Bektas & Arkan, 2021;Vurgec et al, 2021).…”

“…Entretanto em algumas situações, quando a equipe de saúde se empenha em promover ações que alcancem essa população, percebem-se dificuldades para adesão das pacientes em virtude da pobre educação em saúde, crenças culturais e priorização de outras demandas do dia-a-dia. Um estudo realizado na Austrália evidenciou que mulheres africanas refugiadas não aderiam às ações preventivas de vacinação e de rastreio de câncer de mama e de colo do útero (Babatunde-Sowole et al, 2020), de forma semelhante ao encontrado neste estudo com relação ao baixo letramento em saúde (Henry et al, 2020;Riggs et al, 2020), à vacinação precária e as dificuldades relatadas com consequente acesso tardio às consultas e exames (Kahler et al, 1996;Correa-Velez & Ryan, 2012;Kabakian-Khasholian et al, 2013;Wilson-Mitchel & Rummens, 2013;Owens et al, 2016;Verschuuren et al, 2020;Riggs et al, 2020;Dadras et al, 2020;Abdin, 2018;Vurgec et al, 2021).…”

“…Outro estudo realizado na Turquia com mulheres refugiadas onde se destacou a barreira do idioma, os autores sugeriram o uso de aplicativos móveis que traduzem instantaneamente como uma ferramenta para promover melhoria da comunicação entre mulheres imigrantes e profissionais de saúde (Vurgec et al, 2021).…”