Migrace a porod: sociální aspekty prolínání dvou životních změn ve výzkumu perinatálního zdraví žen

• Published in: Sociologický časopis Vol. 54; no. 1; pp. 63 - 99
• Main Authors: Pařízková, Alena, Hrešanová, Ema, Glajchová, Alena
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Czech
• Published: AV ČR Czech Academy of Sciences - Institute of Sociology 2018; AV ČR - Akademie věd České republiky - Sociologický ústav; Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences
• Subjects: Family and social welfare; Health and medicine and law; Migration Studies; migrant women; healthy immigrant effect; perinatal health; acculturation; health care; epidemiological paradox
• ISSN: 0038-0288; 2336-128X

When the experiences of migration and becoming a mother intersect, the context and conditions of this have implications for the health of the women and their children. This article presents an overview of social-science research on health and pregnancy among migrant women and on the perinatal and postpartum care they receive. Research on 124 studies on this subject revealed that there are three main themes associated with maternal health in this context: (1) How women are defined and categorised as migrants: This is often based on a single indicator, country of origin or birth. This creates a simplified and homogenising category that then also serves as the basis for the use of more complex categories. (2) The significance of social support for families, especially with respect to informal care, and the fundamental role of language and language barriers in health care. The relationship between migrant women and health-care providers is impacted by cultural differences, which leave women in a vulnerable position. (3) Macro-sociological and epidemiological factors. These are discussed mainly from the perspective of the ‘epidemiological paradox’, which the authors here deem a rhetorical trick because it conceals the variableness of the findings obtained from perinatal health indicators.