Migrant women with cultural doula support during pregnancy and after childbirth as a complement to midwifery care in Sweden

The project explores migrant women’s experiences of cultural doula support during pregnancy and after childbirth as a complement to Swedish maternal healthcare.

Details

  • Period: 2022-01-01 – 2023-12-31
  • Funder: Region Uppsala

Description

Every fifth woman who contacts Swedish maternal healthcare was born outside Europe. Migrant women seek care later and make fewer midwife visits than women born in Sweden. Instead, they make more emergency visits to the maternity ward, and have an increased risk of complications. Some Swedish regions have started cultural doula projects to increase migrant women's security, support and information in their mother tongue. This is likely to contribute to increased patient safety, in line with Swedish legislation. Cultural doulas have expressed to act as a link between migrant women and Swedish health care. Migrant women's experiences of cultural doula support are, however, sparsely studied.

The project thus aims to explore migrant women’s experiences of cultural doula support during pregnancy and after childbirth as a complement to Swedish maternal healthcare. Interviews with 20 women within the target group were conducted with assistance from language interpreter during 2022. Analysis and manuscript writing took place in 2023 and a scientific article has been submitted in 2024.

Contact

Email: elenor.kaminsky@uu.se

Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University; Primary Healthcare at the Region of Uppsala.

Project members

Project leader: Elenor Kaminsky
Co-investigators: Helena Volgsten, Ingrid Ström, Margareta Johansson

FOLLOW UPPSALA UNIVERSITY ON

facebook
instagram
twitter
youtube
linkedin