Pregnancy Related Health Care Needs in Refugees—A Current Three Center Experience in Europe

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

ReinholdE. Schmidt¹  Sonja Merkesdal¹  Diana Ernst¹  GeorgM. N. Behrens¹  Alexandra Jablonka¹  Evelyn Kleinert²  Frank Müller²  Christine Happle³  Christian Dopfer³  Martin Wetzke³  Annabelle Vakilzadeh⁴ 

[1] Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany;Department of General Practice, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany;Department of Pediatric Pneumology, Allergology, and Neonatology, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany;Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany;

关键词: pregnancy;    migration;    refugees;    health care provision;    reception center;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph15091934

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Background: Immigration into Europe has reached an all-time high. Provision of coordinated healthcare, especially to refugee women that are at increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes, is a challenge for receiving health care systems. Methods: We assessed pregnancy rates and associated primary healthcare needs in three refugee cohorts in Northern Germany during the current crisis. Results: Out of n = 2911 refugees, 18.0% were women of reproductive age, and 9.1% of these were pregnant. Pregnancy was associated with a significant, 3.7-fold increase in primary health care utilization. Language barrier and cultural customs impeded healthcare to some refugee pregnant women. The most common complaints were demand for pregnancy checkup without specific symptoms (48.6%), followed by abdominal pain or urinary tract infections (in 11.4% of cases each). In 4.2% of pregnancies, severe complications such as syphilis or suicide attempts occurred. Discussion: We present data on pregnancy rates and pregnancy associated medical need in three current refugee cohorts upon arrival in Germany. Healthcare providers should be particularly aware of the requirements of pregnant migrants and should adapt primary caretaking strategies accordingly.

【 授权许可】

Unknown