Satisfaction with maternity care among immigrant women compared to non-immigrant women

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Migration is a worldwide phenomenon leading to challenges for the health care system. There is conflicting evidence on the effect of migration on the satisfaction with obstetric care. Our hypothesis was that satisfaction with obstetric care was lower in immigrant women with and without self-defined (sd) refugee status than in non-immigrant women. Methods In the Pregnancy and Obstetric Care for Refugees (PROREF)-study between June 2020 and April 2022 in Berlin women were interviewed 1-3 days after giving birth with the Migrant Friendly Maternity Care Questionnaire (MFMCQ). The interview data was linked to the routine perinatal data of the hospital charts. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression analysis were performed to identify factors influencing satisfaction with obstetric care. Results A total of 3420 women (Frauen (247 with sd refugee status, 1356 immigrant women und 1817 non-immigrant women) could be included in the study, with an overall response rate of 77.5%. Satisfaction measured generally high with over 80% of women being satisfied with obstetric care at all three time points: during pregnancy, during labor and birth and after giving birth. We identified two factors associated with an increased chance of being satisfied with obstetric care: sd refugee status (OR 2.57, 95% Cl 1.48 - 4.44, p-value 0.0008) and being multipara (OR 1.40, 95% Ci 1.18 - 1.67, p-value 0.000). Conclusions Efforts on improving birth experience should focus on primipara. Among the reasons for non-immigrant women being less satisfied with care than women with sd refugee status might be different expectations and the timing of data collection. Key messages • Refugee women might have different expectations regarding birth experience than other immigrant women and non-immigrant women. • Satisfaction with obstetric care in Berlin is generally high among immigrant women and non-immigrant women.