The matter in summary: The proportion of women giving birth with an immigrant background in Norway is increasing, and many encounter problems during pregnancy and childbirth. Multicultural doulas contribute with all possible help during pregnancy, birth and maternity. A study of 350 births with doula support shows promising results, with better health for the mothers. Eight Norwegian hospitals currently offer doula services. Better funding is called for. The Ministry of Health and Care has recently decided that more hospitals will have doula services, especially in areas where many women have an immigrant background. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I had recently come to Norway. I didn’t know the system and I had no family, says Sobia Sobia. The 30-year-old from Pakistan has little Muhammad Hayyan (1 month) on her lap. He came into the world in January. Sobia is among the first hundred to give birth at Sørlandet Hospital – with the support of a multicultural doula. – She arranged many things for me. She is from Pakistan and we speak the same language. It was a great help, she says. SUPPORT: – I come from a different healthcare system where extended family has a different role, says Sobia Sobia, currently a master’s student at the University of Agder. She received moral and practical support from doula Rabia Ikram Sheikh (right). Photo: EIRIK DAMSGAARD / news – Part of the women’s struggle The proportion of women giving birth with an immigrant background is increasing. Figures from 2022 show that nearly 26 percent of the children admitted to Norwegian hospitals now have a mother from a country outside Norway. At the same time, it is clear that newly arrived immigrant women far more often encounter problems during pregnancy and childbirth, the Women’s Health Committee’s report shows. – Doula services are a woman’s right, I think. The need and the challenges are out there, and the authorities must take that seriously, says multicultural doula Rabia Ikram Sheikh. She helped Sobia before and after birth. HELPS: Rabia Ikram Sheikh supports women giving birth who are new to Norway. Photo: EIRIK DAMSGAARD / news – We meet the women at their level and according to their needs, says Ikram Sheikh. Speaking the same language is an advantage. Doulas contribute with all possible help – from integration to health issues. Ikram Sheikh is clear that more immigrant women giving birth should get the offer. – I think the doula project is important because it is part of the women’s struggle today, she says. Checking 350 doula births For the first time, a thorough examination of all births in Norway with doula assistance is now being carried out. Midwife and doula coordinator at Sørlandet Hospital Hanna Oommen presents her study in the autumn. – So far, the results are very promising. They show that the scheme provides better health. This is the right way to go, says Oommen. She studies 350 births with the support of a multicultural doula. In a control group there are just as many immigrant women who did not receive such help. RESEARCHER: – A doula should be a guide in the Norwegian healthcare system and assist both before, during and after a birth, says researcher Hanna Oommen. A large study of the doula effects will come in the autumn. Photo: EIRIK DAMSGAARD / news Several newly arrived women give birth in Norway after traumatic events in their home country. Some have experienced being beaten during childbirth in the past. – Many come from war and conflict and are in a very vulnerable situation. They tend to lack trust in the Norwegian healthcare system and are restless, says Oommen. More stillbirths Immigrant women more often experience problems during pregnancy and childbirth. Gestational diabetes. Nausea. Vitamin D deficiency. Emergency caesarean section. Ruptures and stillbirths. – We cannot live with this large group of women giving birth having such problems. This applies to both physical ailments and injuries and psychological effects afterwards, says Oommen. She emphasizes that such ailments affect the quality of life. ZZZZZZ … : Muhammad Hayyan shows limited interest in multicultural cooperation around the birthday. 26 per cent of those born in 2022 have a mother with an immigrant background. Photo: EIRIK DAMSGAARD / news Lack of funding Eight Norwegian hospitals currently offer a total of 120 doulas, who in total provided an offer to 200 pregnant women in 2023. – We know that more hospitals want to have this offer. But unfortunately we don’t have the money needed, says Kristina Sæhle. She is a midwife and adviser in the Norwegian Women’s Sanitetsforening, which organizes the multicultural doulas in Norway. They are calling for increased investment. – We think this important offer should go to all women who have a short period of residence in Norway, little network, little knowledge of Norwegian or other vulnerability factors, says Sæhle. She says the biggest challenge today is a lack of funding. COLLABORATION: Multicultural doula is a collaboration between the health organizations and the Norwegian Women’s Sanitation Association. Oslo University Hospital launched the doula in Norway in 2017. Photo: EIRIK DAMSGAARD / news To more hospitals In its report “The big difference” in 2023, the Women’s Health Committee called for better funding of the scheme. In the report NOU 23:5, the committee proposed NOK 4.6 million in earmarked annual funds from the state budget. The result was less than half – that is, 2 million in the state budget in both 2023 and 2024. Recently, however, the Ministry of Health and Care decided that more hospitals will have doula services. In the National Health and Cooperation Plan 2024–2027 – which was put forward on 1 March – it is stated that the doula arrangement is to be established in several health facilities where there are many women with an immigrant background.
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