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Health care and illegality: a survey of undocumented pregnant immigrants in Geneva

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Listed:
  • Wolff, Hans
  • Stalder, Hans
  • Epiney, Manuella
  • Walder, Angela
  • Irion, Olivier
  • Morabia, Alfredo

Abstract

Little is known about the conditions of life and the specific health problems of pregnant, undocumented immigrants. This study describes the socio-demographic characteristics and health problems encountered during pregnancy among uninsured, undocumented immigrants in Geneva, Switzerland. A socio-demographic questionnaire was completed by 134 pregnant and undocumented women (mean age 27.8 years) who attended a free antenatal facility between October 2002 and October 2003. The first control of pregnancy was at a median of 10.5 weeks (range 5-33) of amenorrhoea. They were mostly Latino-American (78%), had a median 12 years of education but almost exclusively performed domestic work (91%) after an average residence in Geneva of 18 months. Half of the 62 mothers had left at least one child in their home country. One out of three had never had a cervical smear test and 13% were not immune to rubella. Unintended pregnancies (83%), mostly resulted from lack of contraception (70%). All but one delivery were simple, with a median maternity inpatient stay of 5 days (range 2-10). This population of undocumented, pregnant immigrants comprised mostly highly educated, young, Latino-American women living in poor housing conditions and wages below the legal minimum. The study identified the high proportion of unintended pregnancies as a major health issue. Future research should target these issues and programs addressing lack of access to preventive measures. As well as this, the specific needs of this hard-to-reach population, such as contraception advice, rubella vaccination and cervical cancer screening, should be supported.

Suggested Citation

  • Wolff, Hans & Stalder, Hans & Epiney, Manuella & Walder, Angela & Irion, Olivier & Morabia, Alfredo, 2005. "Health care and illegality: a survey of undocumented pregnant immigrants in Geneva," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(9), pages 2149-2154, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:60:y:2005:i:9:p:2149-2154
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Castro, R. & Peek-Asa, C. & Ruiz, A., 2003. "Violence Against Women in Mexico: A Study of Abuse before and during Pregnancy," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 93(7), pages 1110-1116.
    2. Kelaher, Margaret & Jessop, Dorothy Jones, 2002. "Differences in low-birthweight among documented and undocumented foreign-born and US-born Latinas," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 55(12), pages 2171-2175, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Korinek, Kim & Smith, Ken R., 2011. "Prenatal care among immigrant and racial-ethnic minority women in a new immigrant destination: Exploring the impact of immigrant legal status," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(10), pages 1695-1703, May.
    2. Castañeda, Heide, 2009. "Illegality as risk factor: A survey of unauthorized migrant patients in a Berlin clinic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(8), pages 1552-1560, April.
    3. Maxime Eslier & Catherine Deneux-Tharaux & Priscille Sauvegrain & Thomas Schmitz & Dominique Luton & Laurent Mandelbrot & Candice Estellat & Elie Azria, 2020. "Association between Migrant Women’s Legal Status and Prenatal Care Utilization in the PreCARE Cohort," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-14, September.
    4. Yves Jackson & Adeline Paignon & Hans Wolff & Noelia Delicado, 2018. "Health of undocumented migrants in primary care in Switzerland," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(7), pages 1-13, July.
    5. Timilsina, Laxman, 2023. "Immigration policy shocks and infant health," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    6. Nadiya UKRAYINCHUK & Carine DRAPIER, 2021. "Exhausted migrant effect : La santé des travailleurs immigrés en France," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 53, pages 69-100.
    7. Mladovsky, Philipa, 2009. "A framework for analysing migrant health policies in Europe," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 55-63, November.
    8. Tiedje, Kristina & Plevak, David J., 2014. "Medical humanitarianism in the United States: Alternative healthcare, spirituality and political advocacy in the case of Our Lady Guadalupe Free Clinic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 360-367.
    9. Chavez, Leo R., 2012. "Undocumented immigrants and their use of medical services in Orange County, California," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(6), pages 887-893.
    10. Nellums, Laura B. & Powis, Jaynaide & Jones, Lucy & Miller, Anna & Rustage, Kieran & Russell, Neal & Friedland, Jon S. & Hargreaves, Sally, 2021. "“It's a life you're playing with”: A qualitative study on experiences of NHS maternity services among undocumented migrant women in England," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).

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