[Mothers with migration background have significantly less knowledge of ante- and postnatal support services than mothers without migration background: cross-sectional survey in two maternity hospitals].

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe and analyse knowledge of women in childbed with and without a migration background about ante- and postnatal support services.Questionnaires were provided in 26 languages. In a cross-sectional survey, 641 women answered questions about their knowledge of 11 different regional support services, and information sources for these and other support service providers. Median split was used to derive mothers with good and poor knowledge.German was not the mother tongue of 30% of the participants (n=194) and were therefore defined as "mothers with migration background". Of these, 83% (n=161) were aware of services offered by midwives and<40% knew of other support services. Women with migration background were significantly less likely to know the support services (OR 0.16, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.23), even after controlling for other sociodemographic variables. Furthermore, they obtained significantly less frequently information about relevant services from gynaecologists, midwives, relatives/acquaintances or by themselves.Especially for mothers with migration background, knowledge about ante- and postnatal support services must be made more accessible. In this, midwives could play a decisive role.