Maternity and immigrant women (with a particular focus on Italy)

Abstract

Women and motherhood are important aspects of the immigration issue. Different behaviour related to reproduction and maternity among foreign women, when compared with that of Italian women, is a key factor that has led to a slowing down of the population decline in Italy. Difficulties connected to migration often have impacts on motherhood, in some cases posing problems and conflicts with being a mother. This can result in frequent recourse to abortion, difficulty in managing sexuality and reproductive capacity, and the decision to postpone the realization of children indefinitely – situations that may provoke deep lacerations in the fabric of women's identity. One of the main problems for immigrant women in relation to pregnancy, childbirth and childcare is a profound sense of isolation: having been uprooted from their families, friends, and their own cultural references and traditions related to motherhood, and in some cases giving birth in aseptic hospitals with doctors and nurses who do not even speak their language, either alone or in the presence of a husband or a friend from the same country. Those who work in obstetrics and gynaecology departments are well aware that the number of foreign patients has increased significantly in recent years. From a practical point of view, this means that health professionals increasingly face new and often complex situations, and are forced to rely more on common sense than protocol. In a world afflicted by political and economic crises and an unequal distribution of wealth, in order to meet the health care needs of immigrants, we need to promote an appreciation of all of the different cultures, a bioethical approach, encouraging medical staff to convey feelings of hospitality and solidarity.