Maternal Safety of Syrian Refugees in Southeast Turkey

Abstract

Objective: Immigrants are exposed to many health risks during and after immigration. The impact of immigration on women is greater. The impairment of the women's mental health and barriers to accessing health services bring about many risks associated with pregnancy. In this study, it was aimed to reveal the state of using safe motherhood services among the women aged between 15-49 year old who immigrated from Syria. Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, the data were obtained from Syrian women aged between 15-49 age living in Mardin city center and Kızıltepe in 2016 and agreeing to participate in the study. The sampling size was calculated 384, and the study was carried out among 363 women. Results: The average age of the participants is 28.06 ± 8.39 years and 38.0% is in the 25-34 age group. The rate of those who stated that they did not have any problems when applying to healthcare facilities is 42.3%. Out of 363, 180 (49.6%) women got pregnant after arriving in Turkey. While 162 (90.0%) pregnant women stated that they were examined by health personnel at least once during pregnancy, the rate of those who underwent adequate follow-up (≥4 follow-up) was 46.7%. Of the women, 47.2% who had pregnancy in Turkey were vaccinated against tetanus at least once. Conclusion: Although they found health services to be complicated, the level of benefiting from safe motherhood services was moderate. Despite these positive findings, it is suggested that health care facilities should be tailored for intercultural communication. © 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.