Abstract
BackgroundImmigration to Canada has significantly increased in recent years, particularly in the Prairie Provinces. There is evidence that pregnant newcomer women often encounter challenges when attempting to navigate the health system. Our aim was to explore newcomer women’s experiences in Canada regarding pregnancy, delivery and postpartum care and to assess the degree to which Canada provides equitable access to pregnancy and delivery services.MethodsData were obtained from the Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey. Women (N = 6,241) participated in structured computer-assisted telephone interviews. Women from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were included in this analysis. A total of 140 newcomers (arriving in Canada after 1996) and 1137 Canadian-born women met inclusion criteria.ResultsNewcomers were more likely to be university graduates, but had lower incomes than Canadian-born women. No differences were found in newcomer ability to access acceptable prenatal care, although fewer received information regarding emotional and physical changes during pregnancy. Rates of C-sections were higher for newcomers than Canadian-born women (36.1% vs. 24.7%, p = 0.02). Newcomers were also more likely to be placed in stirrups for birth and have an assisted birth.ConclusionAlthough newcomers residing in Prairie Provinces receive adequate maternity care, improvements are needed with respect to provision of information related to postpartum depression and informed choice around the need for C-sections.
Highlights
Immigration to Canada has significantly increased in recent years, in the Prairie Provinces
According to the 2011 Canadian census, increasing numbers of these newcomers are settling in the Prairie Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba
Data were obtained from the Canadian Maternity Experiences survey MES conducted by a working group of the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance Systems (CPSS), Public Health Agency of Canada and Statistics Canada
Summary
Immigration to Canada has significantly increased in recent years, in the Prairie Provinces. Maintaining health equity is a challenge facing most western democracies as they respond to changing patterns of immigration. Along with most western democracies, Canada is a country of increasing ethno-cultural diversity and subsequently faces challenges around equitable distribution of resources and opportunities to the many very disparate communities across the country [2]. According to the 2011 Canadian census, increasing numbers of these newcomers are settling in the Prairie Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Saskatchewan had a strong increase in its population growth, increasing from minus 1.1% between 2001 and 2006 to plus 6.7% between 2006 and 2011. Much of the population increase in these three provinces is attributed to increases in both immigration and inter-provincial migration [1]
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