gms | German Medical Science

Background: In the recent past, the number of forcibly displaced people increased worldwide [1]. About 1/3 of the persons seeking asylum in Germany are female. Approximately half of the refugee women are of childbearing age respectively in the reproductive phase of their female lives (16–45 years) [2]. There are no exact figures on the number of women who are on fleeing during the phase of pregnancy or puerperium. Observations and assessments report a high number of pregnant women, including advanced pregnancies and breastfeeding mothers who are taking the difficult and dangerous route [3].

Relevance: Pregnancy and puerperium require specialized care and support in order to allow a transition to maternity without complications. In addition, women who have fled have a particular physical and psychosocial burden due to their experiences in connection with the escape process [4]. Maternal health care professionals support and observe the physiological processes of becoming a mother. Maternal care includes medical care and takes the psychosocial and emotional needs of women into account.

Aim: How do maternal health care professionals organize and shape the care of refugee women? The aim of this project is to analyze maternal health care services for refugee women on the level of interaction with maternal health care professionals in Germany. By illustrating the maternal health care for refugee women, challenges and solutions are examined, taking into account the particular problem constellation.

Methods: Maternal health care professionals (gynaecologists, (family-) midwives) in outpatient and clinical settings were interviewed using an interview-guide. Following the qualitative study approach, the transcribed, problem-oriented interviews are analysed by the standards of a structuring qualitative content analysis.

Results: Maternal health care professionals develop new strategies in providing care for refugee women. This is because they face challenges in the implementation and execution of certain measures, such as anamnesis, where communication is not possible, or in carrying out intimate examinations without or with little privacy (in shared accommodation). There are also changes in their tasks, such as the organization of translations or transport. In addition, maternal health care professionals are confronted with a lack of resources (e.g. translators, time) which forces them to find solutions at an individual level.

Conclusions: Strategies developed in the context of maternal care for refugee women enable approaches to be developed for existing problem constellations and further development for proven strategies. In this way the maternal health care services and health of refugee women may improve.

Ethics and conflicts of interest: An ethics vote has been obtained. The research was supported by external funding. There are no conflicts of interest.

The PDF file of the poster submitted for the meeting is available in German as Attachment 1 [Attach. 1].