Midwives’ communication with non-Swedish-speaking women giving birth: A survey from a multicultural setting in Sweden

INTRODUCTION: The European Union faces challenges related to migration, cultural diversity and health. Immigration to Sweden has increased and a third of all women giving birth were born outside Sweden. A higher risk for negative pregnancy outcomes is seen among foreign-born women and one of the explanations given is inadequate communication. Midwives in Sweden have responsibility for normal birth. This study aimed to investigate labor ward midwives’ experiences of caring for and communicating with women who do not speak and understand the Swedish language. METHODS: A questionnaire based on the Migrant Friendly Hospital questionnaire was distributed to all 46 midwives working on the Södertälje Hospital labor and postpartum ward in 2018 and 32 completed it (70%). RESULTS: Most of the midwives thought communication and giving support to non-Swedish speaking women during birth was difficult or very difficult (n=31; 97%). The quality of the professional interpreters’ work was reported as good or very good by most of the midwives (n=31; 97%). However, the most common resource for facilitating communication during labor was an adult relative (always/often: n=25; 83%). Increased availability was the most common response for improving the interpreter service (n=22; 69%), as well as increasing the number of languages available for interpreter services (n=8; 25%). CONCLUSIONS: When women are giving birth, it is of the highest priority to improve communication between midwives and non-Swedish-speaking women. Better strategies for improving communication must be implemented in order to comply adequately with Swedish law and achieve equitable care of high quality for all, regardless of linguistic background.