Equal Alternatives or Lower Standards for Immigrant Women—Analyzing Obstetric Care for Immigrant Women in Berlin Within the Framework of Cultural Health Capital

• Published in: Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities 2024-10, Vol.11 (5), p.2689-2698
• Main Authors: Großkreutz, Claudia, Gürbüz, Burcu, Borde, Theda, Rancourt, Rebecca C., Henrich, Wolfgang, David, Matthias, Seidel, Vera
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age of onset; Berlin; Birth experiences; Births; Clinics; Communication; Communication Barriers; Content analysis; Critical race theory; Cultural capital; Culturally Competent Care - standards; Emigrants and Immigrants - psychology; Emigrants and Immigrants - statistics & numerical data; Epidemiology; Families & family life; Female; Health services; Humans; Immigrants; Interviews; Islamic countries; Legal status; Maternal Health Services - standards; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Midwifery; Midwives; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Obstetricians; Obstetrics; Patients; Postpartum period; Postpartum women; Pregnancy; Qualitative analysis; Qualitative Research; Quality of Life Research; Risk factors; Social Inequality; Social Structure; Students; Women; Womens health
• ISSN: 2197-3792; 2196-8837; 2196-8837
• DOI: 10.1007/s40615-023-01732-0

In obstetric clinics in Berlin, Germany, more than half of the women are immigrants. The main objective of the qualitative study was to explore the staff’s experiences with obstetric care for immigrants and juxtapose it with the immigrants’ comments on their birth experiences. We analyze potential differences along the framework of a cultural health capital (CHC). Between May and August 2017, semi-structured interviews were carried out with 17 obstetricians and 17 midwives at four obstetric clinics in Berlin. The verbally transcribed interview material was subjected to a qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. Furthermore, a secondary data from an interview study was analyzed in the purpose of providing some insight into the practitioner study participant perspective. Between January and May 2017, in the postpartum ward at the Berlin Charité Campus Virchow Clinic, an interview study guided by the migrant-friendly maternity care questionnaire was conducted among 410 migrant and non-migrant women. For this study, the free-text comments on the pregnancy care were analyzed. The staff interviewees identified language barrier and legal status as risk factors for the late onset of obstetric care. CHC functioning potentially as alternatives to the established health care structures were voiced. Strong family ties among immigrant families bear a high potential for support. Gratefulness was voiced by the staff and immigrant patients as a source of satisfaction with care. Our study shows that obstetric care for immigrant women remains a challenge. CHC of immigrant women might partially compensate for exclusion.