Suboptimal factors in maternal and newborn care for refugees: Lessons learned from perinatal audits in the Netherlands.
A E H VerschuurenJ B TankinkI R PostmaK A BergmanB GoodarziE I Feijen-de JongJ J H M ErwichPublished in: PloS one (2024)
The number of suboptimal factors identified in this study and the extent to which they contributed to adverse perinatal and maternal outcomes among refugee women is alarming. The wide range of suboptimal factors identified provides considerable scope for improvement of maternal and newborn care for refugee populations. These findings also highlight the importance of including refugee women in perinatal audits as it is essential for healthcare providers to better understand the factors associated with adverse outcomes to improve the quality of care. Adjustments to improve care for refugees could include culturally sensitive education for healthcare providers, increased workforce diversity, minimizing the relocation of asylum seekers, and permanent reimbursement of professional interpreter costs.