The Impact of Refugee Women’s Accommodation on Maternal Health Care Provision

Abstract

Abstract Background About 1/3 of the persons seeking asylum in Germany are female. The majority of all refugee women in Germany are currently of childbearing age. The maternity period requires specialized care. Maternal health care professionals monitor the physiological processes of maternity and the psychosocial well-being in order to allow an uncomplicated transition to maternity. On arriving in Germany there are different types of accommodation for refugee women: 1) shared reception centers (e.g. tents, containerbuildings, gyms), 2) collective shelters for particularly vulnerable refugees and 3) private apartments. Depending on the woman’s accommodation maternal health care professionals are confronted with different situations and conditions in providing care for these women. The aim is to analyze the impact of refugee women’s accommodation on maternal health care provision and professional’s actions. Methods Structured expert interviews were conducted with maternal health care professionals. The interviews were analyzed following the standards of qualitative thematic analysis with a special focus on refugee women’s accommodation and its impact on maternal health care provision. Results The accommodation situation does impact the provision of maternal health care as well as the actions and doings of maternal health care professionals. On the one hand there is a change in tasks, which are no subject to original maternal health care, such as organizing transportation. On the other hand there are challenges in actually executing particular maternal health care actions, such as taking the medical history or performing examinations where there is no or little privacy. Conclusions Accommodation conditions impact maternal health care provision in various ways. Therefore an enhancement of housing for refugee women may improve maternal health care provision and therefore maternal health for refugee women.