An exploratory research on the lived experiences of BAME women and other marginalised women in swale district of maternity services
This qualitative study was conducted on by Diversity House on behalf of NHS Kent and Medway to examine how BAME women, and women from the mainstream population who reside in underserved areas of Swale, experienced maternity services.
Below is a short excerpt from the report’s introduction, if you would like to read the report in its entirety, please click the button below to view and download.
Introduction
Evidence indicates that women from ethnic minorities may encounter greater challenges in obtaining services and may think their experiences are less favourable (Jones et al., 2014; Sambrook et al., 2019). Given that race and ethnicity interact with other socioeconomic categories to either produce privilege or disadvantage, it was necessary to conduct a study that allowed BAMEs and other people living in underprivileged areas to provide their first hand accounts of maternity services and care. The experiences of 64 BAME women and other women from underprivileged backgrounds in Swale who accessed Kent and Medway maternity services between 2017 and 2022 were presented in this research. It is predicted that the study’s findings will guide clinical advancements in prenatal and postnatal care for ethnically diverse mothers.