“In some ways it feels like a specialism”: Exploring the lived experience of multilingual maternity professionals – A qualitative interview study

Abstract

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the experience of multilingual maternity staff working in UK NHS hospitals.

Methods

As part of an exploratory qualitative descriptive approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with multilingual healthcare professionals, working in perinatal care in different NHS trusts across the United Kingdom. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and subsequently analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

Where practitioners were able to draw on their linguistic skills, they felt that multilingualism was a specialism and appreciated by colleagues. Practitioners also felt that the utilisation of shared languages could boost the confidence of women and birthing people, as well as improving their understanding and sense of wellbeing. Conversely, several practitioners felt an obligation to offer linguistic support, noting that it added to a workload burden, and fear of litigation, that was not experienced by monolingual colleagues.

Conclusion

Strategic utilisation of linguistically skilled NHS practitioners may hold the potential for advancing equity of care for migrant populations, who are regularly and disproportionately represented in data recording adverse outcomes.

Innovation

Investing in institutional support and formal accreditation for multilingual health professionals would enable them to be able to operate with confidence, redress (invisibilized) workloads and contribute to advancing parity of care for migrant patients.