Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Migrant Women’s Utilization of Prenatal Care: A Systematic Review

  • Published:
Maternal and Child Health Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Our objectives were to determine whether migrant women in Western industrialized countries have higher odds of inadequate prenatal care (PNC) compared to receiving-country women and to summarize factors that are associated with inadequate PNC among migrant women in these countries. We conducted searches of electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO), reference lists, known experts, and an existing database of the Reproductive Outcomes And Migration international research collaboration for articles published between January, 1995 and April, 2010. Title and abstract review and quality appraisal were conducted independently by 2 reviewers using established criteria, with consensus achieved through discussion. In this systematic review of 29 studies, the majority of studies demonstrated that migrant women were more likely to receive inadequate PNC than receiving-country women, with most reporting moderate to large effect sizes. Rates of inadequate PNC among migrant women varied widely by country of birth. Only three studies explored predictors of inadequate PNC among migrant women. These studies found that inadequate PNC among migrant women was associated with being less than 20 years of age, multiparous, single, having poor or fair language proficiency, education less than 5 years, an unplanned pregnancy, and not having health insurance. We concluded that migrant women as a whole were more likely to have inadequate PNC and the magnitude of this risk differed by country of origin. Few studies addressed predictors of PNC utilization in migrant women and this limits our ability to provide effective PNC in this population.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. US Department of Health and Human Services. (November 2000). Healthy people 2010: Understanding and improving health (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Vintzileos, A. M., Ananth, C. V., Smulian, J. C., Scorza, W. E., & Knuppel, R. A. (2002). The impact of prenatal care on postneonatal deaths in the presence and absence of antenatal high-risk conditions. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 187, 1258–1262.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Vintzileos, A. M., Ananth, C. V., Smulian, J. C., Scorza, W. E., & Knuppel, R. A. (2002). Prenatal care and black-white fetal death disparity in the United States: Heterogeneity by high risk conditions. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 99, 483–489.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Barros, H., Tavares, M., & Rodrigues, T. (1996). Role of prenatal care in preterm birth and low birthweight in Portugal. Journal of Public Health Medicine, 18(3), 321–328.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Heaman, M. I., Blanchard, J. F., Gupton, A. L., Moffatt, M. E., & Currie, R. F. (2005 May). Risk factors for spontaneous preterm birth among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women in Manitoba. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, 19(3), 181–193.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Heaman, M. I., Newburn-Cook, C. V., Green, C. G., Elliott, L. J., & Helewa, M. E. (2008). Inadequate prenatal care and its association with adverse pregnancy outcomes: A comparison of indices. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, 8, 15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Petrou, S., Kupek, E., Vause, S., & Maresh, M. (2003). Antenatal visits and adverse perinatal outcomes: Results from a British population-based study. European Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, 106(1), 40–49.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. D’Ascoli, P. T., Alexander, G. R., Petersen, D. J., & Kogan, M. D. (1997 Jul). Parental factors influencing patterns of prenatal care utilization. Journal of Perinatology, 17(4), 283–287.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2002). State-specific trends in US live births to women born outside the 50 states and the District of Columbia, United States, 1990 and 2000. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 51, 1091–1095.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Sobotka, T. (2008). The rising importance of migrants for childrearing in Europe. Demographic Research, 19, 225–248.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. United Nations. (2009). Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2008 Revision. US: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Rowe, R. E., Magee, H., Quigley, M. A., Heron, P., Askham, J., & Brocklehurst, P. (2008 Dec). Social and ethnic differences in attendance for antenatal care in England. Public Health, 122(12), 1363–1372.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Heaman, M. I., Green, C. G., Newburn-Cook, C. V., Elliott, L. J., & Helewa, M. E. (2007 Oct). Social inequalities in use of prenatal care in Manitoba. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada, 29(10), 806–816.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Gagnon, A. J., Zimbeck, M., Zeitlin, J., Alexander, S., Blondel, B., Buitendijk, S., et al. (2009 Sep). Migration to western industrialised countries and perinatal health: A systematic review. Social Science and Medicine, 69(6), 934–946.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Urquia, M. L., Glazier, R. H., Blondel, B., Zeitlin, J., Gissler, M., Macfarlane, A., Ng, E., Heaman, M., Stray-Pedersen, B., Gagnon, A. (2010). International migration and adverse birth outcomes: Role of ethnicity, region of origin and destination. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 64, 243–251.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Edwards, N. (1994 Jul). Factors influencing prenatal class attendance among immigrants in Ottawa-Carleton. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 85(4), 254–258.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Lindstrom, D. P., & Munoz-Franco, E. (2006 Aug). Migration and maternal health services utilization in rural Guatemala. Social Science and Medicine, 63(3), 706–721.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Alderliesten, M. E., Vrijkotte, T. G., van der Wal, M. F., & Bonsel, G. J. (2007). Late start of antenatal care among ethnic minorities in a large cohort of pregnant women. BJOG, 114(10), 1232–1239.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Ny, P., Dykes, A. K., Molin, J., & jin-Karlsson, E. (2007). Utilisation of antenatal care by country of birth in a multi-ethnic population: A four-year community-based study in Malmo, Sweden. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 86(7), 805–813.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Gagnon, A. J. (2004). The responsiveness of the Canadian Health Care System towards newcomers. In: P.-G. Forest, G. P. Marchildon & T. McIntosh (Eds.), Changing health care in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 349–388.

  21. Auslander, W. F., Thompson, S. J., Dreitzer, D., & Santiago, J. V. (1997). Mothers’ satisfaction with medical care: Perceptions of racism, family stress, and medical outcomes in children with diabetes. Health and Social Work, 22(3), 190–199.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Bowen, S. (2000). Language barriers in access to health care. Ottawa, ON: Health Canada Ottawa.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Edwards, N. C., & Boivin, J. F. (1997). Ethnocultural predictors of postpartum infant-care behaviours among immigrants in Canada. Ethnicity & Health, 2, 163–176.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Kobayashi, A., Moore, E., & Rosenberg, M. (1998). Healthy immigrant children: A demographic and geographic analysis. Report No.: W-98-20E.

  25. Truman, C. D., & Reutter, L. (2002 Jan). Care-giving and care-seeking behaviours of parents who take their children to an emergency department for non-urgent care. Canadian Journal of Public Health-Revue Canadienne de Sante Publique, 93(1), 41–46.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Lin, M. L., Shieh, C., & Wang, H. H. (2008 Jun). Comparison between pregnant Southeast Asian immigrant and Taiwanese women in terms of pregnancy knowledge, attitude toward pregnancy, medical service experiences and prenatal care behaviors. The Journal of Nursing Research, 16(2), 97–108.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Small, R., Yelland, J., Lumley, J., Brown, S., & Liamputtong, P. (2002 Dec). Immigrant women’s views about care during labor and birth: An Australian study of Vietnamese, Turkish, and Filipino women. Birth, 29(4), 266–277.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Wells, G. A., Shea, B., O’Connell, D. (2003). The Newcastle–Ottawa Scale (NOS) for assessing the quality of nonrandomised studies in meta-analyses. Ottawa: Ottawa Health Research Institute. Retrieved December 2, 2009 from http://www.ohri.ca/programs/clinical_epidemiology/oxford.htm.

  29. Urquia, M. L., & Gagnon, A. J. (2011 May). Glossary: Migration and health. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 65(5), 467–472.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Lu, M. C., Kotelchuck, M., Hogan, V., Jones, L., Wright, K., & Halfon, N. (2010). Closing the Black-White gap in birth outcomes: A life-course approach. Ethnicity and Disease, 20(1 Suppl 2), S2–S76.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Zambrana, R. (1996). Prenatal care and medical risk in low-income, primiparous, mexican-origin and African American women. Families, Systems & Health, 14(3), 349–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Blondel, B., & Marshall, B. (1998 Aug). Poor antenatal care in 20 French districts: Risk factors and pregnancy outcome. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 52(8), 501–506.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Zeitlin, J., Bucourt, M., Rivera, L., Topuz, B., & Papiernik, E. (2004 Aug). Preterm birth and maternal country of birth in a French district with a multiethnic population. BJOG, 111(8), 849–855.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Malin, M., & Gissler, M. (2009). Maternal care and birth outcomes among ethnic minority women in Finland. BMC Public Health, 9, 84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. David, M., Pachaly, J., & Vetter, K. (2006 Aug). Perinatal outcome in Berlin (Germany) among immigrants from Turkey. Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 274(5), 271–278.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Acevedo-Garcia, D., Soobader, M. J., & Berkman, L. F. (2005 Jan). The differential effect of foreign-born status on low birth weight by race/ethnicity and education. Pediatrics, 115(1), e20–e30.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Acevedo-Garcia, D., Soobader, M. J., & Berkman, L. F. (2007 Dec). Low birthweight among US Hispanic/Latino subgroups: The effect of maternal foreign-born status and education. Social Science and Medicine, 65(12), 2503–2516.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Alexander, G. R., Mor, J. M., Kogan, M. D., Leland, N. L., & Kieffer, E. (1996 Jun). Pregnancy outcomes of US-born and foreign-born Japanese Americans. American Journal of Public Health, 86(6), 820–824.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Bengiamin, M. I., Capitman, J. A., & Ruwe, M. B. (2010 Jul). Disparities in initiation and adherence to prenatal care: Impact of insurance, race-ethnicity and nativity. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 14(4), 618–624.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Cervantes, A. (1999). Adverse birth outcomes among native-born and immigrant women: Replicating national evidence regarding Mexicans at the local level. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 3(2), 99–109.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Crump, C. (1999). Adverse birth outcomes among Mexican-Americans: Are US-born women at greater risk than Mexico-Born women? Ethnicity & Health, 4(1&2), 29–34.

    Google Scholar 

  42. David, R. J., & Collins, J. W., Jr. (1997 Oct 23). Differing birth weight among infants of US-born blacks, African-born blacks, and US-born whites. New England Journal of Medicine, 337(17), 1209–1214.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. El Reda, D. K., Grigorescu, V., Posner, S. F., & vis-Harrier, A. (2007 Nov). Lower rates of preterm birth in women of Arab ancestry: An epidemiologic paradox–Michigan, 1993–2002. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 11(6), 622–627.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Fang, J., Madhavan, S., & Alderman, M. H. (1999 Jan). Low birth weight: Race and maternal nativity-impact of community income. Pediatrics, 103(1), E5.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. Fuentes-Afflick, E., Hessol, N. A., & Perez-Stable, E. J. (1998 Nov). Maternal birthplace, ethnicity, and low birth weight in California. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 152(11), 1105–1112.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Fuentes-Afflick, E., Hessol, N. A., Bauer, T., O’Sullivan, M. J., Gomez-Lobo, V., Holman, S., et al. (2006 Jan). Use of prenatal care by Hispanic women after welfare reform. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 107(1), 151–160.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Gould, J. B., Madan, A., Qin, C., & Chavez, G. (2003 Jun). Perinatal outcomes in two dissimilar immigrant populations in the United States: A dual epidemiologic paradox. Pediatrics, 111(6 Pt 1), e676–e682.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Korenbrot, C. C., Dudley, R. A., & Greene, J. D. (2000 Dec). Changes in births to foreign-born women after welfare and immigration policy reforms in California. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 4(4), 241–250.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Leslie, J. C., Diehl, S. J., & Galvin, S. L. (2006 Jan). A comparison of birth outcomes among US-born and non-US-born Hispanic women in North Carolina. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 10(1), 33–38.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Madan, A., Palaniappan, L., Urizar, G., Wang, Y., Fortmann, S. P., & Gould, J. B. (2006 Mar). Sociocultural factors that affect pregnancy outcomes in two dissimilar immigrant groups in the United States. Journal of Pediatrics, 148(3), 341–346.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  51. Potter, J. E., Pereyra, M., Lampe, M., Rivero, Y., Danner, S. P., Cohen, M. H., et al. (2009 Sep). Factors associated with prenatal care use among peripartum women in the Mother-Infant Rapid Intervention at Delivery study. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing, 38(5), 534–543.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Reichman, N. E., & Kenney, G. M. (1998). Prenatal care, birth outcomes and newborn hospitalization costs: Patterns among Hispanics in New Jersey. Family Planning Perspectives, 30(4), 182–187, 200.

    Google Scholar 

  53. Sarnoff, R., & Adams, E. (2001 Sep). Racial and ethnic disparities in the discordance between women’s assessment of the timing of their prenatal care entry and the first trimester standard. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 5(3), 179–187.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  54. Sarnquist, C. C., Grieb, E. M., & Maldonado, Y. A. (2010 Jul). How racial and ethnic groupings may mask disparities: The importance of separating Pacific Islanders from Asians in prenatal care data. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 14(4), 635–641.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Singh, G. K., & Yu, S. M. (1996 Jun). Adverse pregnancy outcomes: Differences between US- and foreign-born women in major US racial and ethnic groups. American Journal of Public Health, 86(6), 837–843.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Gissler, M., Geraedts, M., Hemminki, E., & Buekens, P. (1998 Sep). Insufficient prenatal care in Finland and Baden-Wurttemberg—Characteristics of women and infant outcome. European Journal of Public Health, 8(3), 227–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. Guendelman, S., & Blondel, B. (1999). Birth outcomes of immigrant women in the United States, France, and Belgium. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 3(4), 177–187.

    Google Scholar 

  58. Kessner, D., Singer, D., Kalk, C., & Schlesinger, E. (1973). Infant death: An analysis by maternal risk and health care. In D. Kessner (Ed.), Contrasts in health status. Washington, DC: Institute of Medicine.

    Google Scholar 

  59. Alexander, G. R., & Cornely, D. A. (1987 Sep). Prenatal care utilization: Its measurement and relationship to pregnancy outcome. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 3(5), 243–253.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Alexander, G. R., & Kotelchuck, M. (1996 Sep). Quantifying the adequacy of prenatal care: A comparison of indices. Public Health Reports, 111(5), 408–418.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  61. Blondel, B., & Marshall, B. (1996) Women with little or no prenatal care during pregnancy. Results of a study of twenty departments. Journal de gynécologie, obstétrique et biologie de la reproduction (Paris), 25(7), 729–736.

Download references

Acknowledgments

Dr. Heaman is supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Chair in Gender and Health. Dr. Bayrampour was supported by a graduate student traineeship and Dr. Kingston by a post-doctoral fellowship funded by Dr. Heaman’s Chair award while assisting with this systematic review. Dr. Gagnon is co-leader of Reproductive Outcomes And Migration (ROAM): an international research collaboration, and Drs. Heaman, Blondel, Gissler, Alexander, and Ms. Roth are members of ROAM. Dr. Gagnon receives career support from Le fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec (FRSQ) and McGill University William Dawson Scholar Research Fund.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIHR Chair in Gender and Health, Faculty of Nursing, Helen Glass Centre for Nursing, University of Manitoba, Room 268, 89 Curry Place, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada

    M. Heaman

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    H. Bayrampour

  3. Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research, Child Development Centre, #200, 3820—24 Avenue NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada

    H. Bayrampour

  4. Faculty of Nursing, 5-258 Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, University of Alberta, 11405-87th Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T6G 1C9, Canada

    D. Kingston

  5. Unité de Recherche Epidémiologique sur la Santé périnatale et la Santé des Femmes et des Enfants, Epidemiological Research Unit on Perinatal Health and Women and Children Health, National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM U953), Hopital Saint-Vincent de Paul, Batiment Lelong-porte 5, 82, avenue Denfert Rochereau, 75014, Paris, France

    B. Blondel

  6. Information Division, THL National Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O.BOX 30, 00271, Helsinki, Finland

    M. Gissler

  7. NHV Nordic School of Public Health, Nya varvet byggnad 25, Box 12133, 402 42, Gothenburg, Sweden

    M. Gissler

  8. Director of Undergraduate Programmes, Lead Midwife for Education, Clinical Education Centre, Keele University, Newcastle Road, Newcastle, ST4 6QG, UK

    C. Roth

  9. PERU (Perinatal Epidemiology and Reproductive Health Unit), Ecole de Santé Publique, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 808 route de Lennik, 1070, Brussels, Belgium

    S. Alexander

  10. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Nursing, McGill University Health Centre, McGill University, 3506, rue University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2A7, Canada

    A. Gagnon

Authors
  1. M. Heaman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. H. Bayrampour
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. D. Kingston
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. B. Blondel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. M. Gissler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. C. Roth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. S. Alexander
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. A. Gagnon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Heaman.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Heaman, M., Bayrampour, H., Kingston, D. et al. Migrant Women’s Utilization of Prenatal Care: A Systematic Review. Matern Child Health J 17, 816–836 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-012-1058-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-012-1058-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation