African Immigrant Women's Experiences of Maternity Care in the United States.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore maternity care experiences of African immigrant women during the perinatal period including factors affecting access to and use of care.

Methods: We used Sandelowski's (2010) qualitative descriptive approach to examine how African immigrant women from various countries of origin and with diverse ethnic backgrounds experienced and navigated the maternity care system in the United States during pregnancy and childbirth. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 African immigrant women living in the Columbus, Ohio area. Participants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling between February 2021 and May 2021. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach.

Findings: Four major themes defined the experiences of our study participants: access to information, patient-clinician relationships, experiences of discrimination, and costs of maternity care.

Clinical implications: Findings highlight key barriers to providing quality and acceptable maternity care to African immigrant women at multiple levels. This group's unique barriers underlie the importance of incorporating their diverse experiences into maternity care models and clinical practice. Further research is needed to evaluate and improve maternity care for African immigrant women.