Somali Refugee Women's Cultural Beliefs and Practices Around Pregnancy and Childbirth.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the cultural beliefs and practices of resettled Somali refugee women around pregnancy and childbirth. This study took place in the Midwestern region of the United States. Leininger's theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality served as the theoretical framework for the design of this qualitative descriptive study. Data were collected from 15 Somali refugee women through in-depth interviews. Three major themes emerged from this study. This article focuses on one of the themes: It's what women believe and do. This theme is reflective and indicative of the Somali refugee women cultural beliefs and practices during pregnancy, and during and after childbirth. Somali refugee women approached, managed, and conceptualized pregnancy and childbirth in their cultural context. Western health care providers should strive to understand cultural beliefs and conceptualizations that may influence the utilization of prenatal health care.