Giving birth on the way to the clinic: undocumented migrant women's perceptions and experiences of maternal healthcare accessibility along the Thailand-Myanmar border.

BACKGROUND: Millions of women give birth annually without the support of a trained birth attendant. Generally and globally, countries provide maternal health services for their citizens but there is a coverage gap for undocumented migrant women who often can't access the same care due to their legal status. The objective of this investigation is to explore undocumented migrants' experiences and perceptions of maternal healthcare accessibility. METHODS: We held focus groups discussions with 64 pregnant women at 3 migrant health clinics on the Thailand-Myanmar border and asked how they learned about the clinic, their health care options, travel and past experiences with birth services. In this context undocumented women could sign up for migrant health insurance at the clinic that would allow them to be referred for tertiary care at government hospitals if needed. RESULTS: Women learned about care options through a network approach often relying on information from community members and trusted care providers. For many, choice of alternate care was limited by lack of antenatal care services close to their homes, limited knowledge of other services and inability to pay fees associated with hospital care. Women travelled up to 4 h to get to the clinic by foot, bicycle, tractor, motorcycle or car, sometimes using multiple modes of transport. Journeys from the Myanmar side of the border were sometimes complicated by nighttime border crossing closures, limited transport and heavy rain. CONCLUSIONS: Undocumented migrant women in our study experienced a type of conditional or variable accessibility where time of day, transport and weather needed to align with the onset of labour to ensure that they could get to the migrant clinic on time to give birth. We anticipate that undocumented migrants in other countries may also experience conditional accessibility to birth care, especially where travel is necessary due to limited local services. Care providers may improve opportunities for undocumented pregnant women to access maternal care by disseminating information on available services through informal networks and addressing travel barriers through mobile services and other travel supports. Trial registration The research project was approved by Research Ethics Committee at the Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University (FAM-2560-05204), and the Department of Community Medicine and Global Health at the University of Oslo-Norwegian Centre for Research Data (58542).

Undocumented pregnant migrants have difficulties and limitations in accessing maternal health care services. Although the governments have tried to provide maternal health care services to all, there is still a gap in coverage among this population. This study explores how undocumented pregnant migrants perceive their ability to access maternal health care and share their experiences when utilizing it. We used focus groups to interview 64 pregnant women at three migrant health clinics on the Thailand­Myanmar border. We asked how they learned about the clinic, their health care options, travel, and past experiences with birth services. The results showed that they usually knew about care options from community members and trusted care providers. The limitations for the choice of alternate care were due to a lack of services close to their homes, limited knowledge of other services, inability to pay hospital fees, and difficulty traveling from their residence to the clinic. Therefore, we anticipate that undocumented migrants in other countries may also experience difficulties in accessibility to birth care, especially where travel is necessary due to limited local services. Care providers may improve opportunities for these migrants to access maternal care by disseminating information on available services through informal networks and addressing travel barriers through mobile services and other travel supports.

Access to community-based reproductive health services and incidence of low birthweight delivery among refugee and displaced mothers: a retrospective study in the Thailand-Myanmar border region.

OBJECTIVES: Over 2.4 million people have been displaced within the Thailand-Myanmar border region since 1988. The efficacy of community-driven health models within displaced populations is largely unstudied. Here, we examined the relationship between maternal healthcare access and delivery outcomes to evaluate the impact of community-provided health services for marginalised populations. SETTING: Study setting was the Thailand-Myanmar border region's single largest provider of reproductive health services to displaced mothers. PARTICIPANTS: All women who had a delivery (n=34 240) between 2008 and 2019 at the study clinic were included in the performed retrospective analyses. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Low birth weight was measured as the study outcome to understand the relationship between antenatal care access, family planning service utilisation, demographics and healthy deliveries. RESULTS: First trimester (OR=0.86; 95% CI=0.81 to 0.91) and second trimester (OR=0.86; 95% CI=0.83 to 0.90) antenatal care visits emerged as independent protective factors against low birthweight delivery, as did prior utilisation of family planning services (OR=0.82; 95% CI=0.73 to 0.92). Additionally, advanced maternal age (OR=1.36; 95% CI=1.21 to 1.52) and teenage pregnancy (OR=1.27, 95% CI=1.13 to 1.42) were notable risk factors, while maternal gravidity (OR=0.914; 95% CI=0.89 to 0.94) displayed a protective effect against low birth weight. CONCLUSION: Access to community-delivered maternal health services is strongly associated with positive delivery outcomes among displaced mothers. This study calls for further inquiry into how to best engage migrant and refugee populations in their own reproductive healthcare, in order to develop resilient models of care for a growing displaced population globally.

A mixed methods evaluation of Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) and Basic Life Support in Obstetrics (BLSO) in a resource-limited setting on the Thailand-Myanmar border.

Background: Short emergency obstetric care (EmOC) courses have demonstrated improved provider confidence, knowledge and skills but impact on indicators such as maternal mortality and stillbirth is less substantial. This manuscript evaluates Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) and Basic Life Support (BLSO) as an adult education tool, in a protracted, post-conflict and resource-limited setting. Methods: A mixed methods evaluation was used. Basic characteristics of ALSO and BLSO participants and their course results were summarized. Kirkpatrick's framework for assessment of education effectiveness included: qualitative data on participants' reactions to training (level 1); and quantitative health indicator data on change in the availability and quality of EmOC and in maternal and/or neonatal health outcomes (level 4), by evaluation of the post-partum haemorrhage (PPH) related maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and stillbirth rate in the eight years prior and following implementation of ALSO and BLSO. Results: 561 Thailand-Myanmar border health workers participated in ALSO (n=355) and BLSO (n=206) courses 2008-2020. Pass rates on skills exceeded 90% for both courses while 50% passed the written ALSO test. Perceived confidence significantly improved for all items assessed. In the eight-year block preceding the implementation of ALSO and BLSO (2000-07) the PPH related MMR per 100,000 live births was 57.0 (95%CI 30.06-108.3)(9/15797) compared to 25.4 (95%CI 11.6-55.4)(6/23620) eight years following (2009-16), p=0.109. After adjustment, PPH related maternal mortality was associated with birth before ALSO/BLSO implementation aOR 3.825 (95%CI 1.1233-11.870), migrant (not refugee) status aOR 3.814 (95%CI 1.241-11.718) and attending ≤four antenatal consultations aOR 3.648 (95%CI 1.189-11.191). Stillbirth rate per 1,000 total births was 18.2 (95%CI 16.2-20.4)(291/16016) before the courses, and 11.1 (95%CI 9.8-12.5)(264/23884) after, p=0.038. Birth before ALSO/ BLSO implementation was associated with stillbirth aoR 1.235 (95%CI 1.018-1.500). Conclusions: This evaluation suggests ALSO and BLSO are sustainable, beneficial, EmOC trainings for adult education in protracted, post-conflict, resource-limited settings.