Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-019-05227-4 MATERNAL-FETAL MEDICINE The infuence of migration on women’s satisfaction during pregnancy and birth: results of a comparative prospective study with the Migrant Friendly Maternity Care Questionnaire (MFMCQ) B. Gürbüz 5  · C. Großkreutz 1  · M. Vortel 1  · T. Borde 2  · R. C. Rancourt 7  · H. Stepan 5  · O. Sauzet 6  · W. Henrich 1  · M. David 3  · V. Seidel 1,4 Received: 4 April 2019 / Accepted: 19 June 2019 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract Introduction Approximately 21% of Germany’s inhabitants have been born abroad or are of direct descent of immigrants. A positive birth experience has an efect on a woman’s mental health and her future family planning choices. While interna- tional studies showed that immigrant women are less satisfed with their birth experience, no such study has been conducted in Germany until now. Methods At our center of tertiary care in Berlin, with approximately 50% immigrants among patients, pregnant women of at least 18 years of age were ofered participation in this study. A modifed version of the Migrant Friendly Maternity Care Questionnaire (MFMCQ) designed by Gagnon et al. in German, English, French, Spanish, Arabic and Turkish was used. We compared non-immigrant women to immigrant women and women with direct descent of immigrants. For certain analysis, the latter two groups were included together under the category “migration background”. Results During the study period, 184 non-immigrant, 214 immigrant women and 62 direct descendants of immigrants were included. The most frequent countries of origin were Syria (19%), Turkey (17%), and Lebanon (9%). We found a slight diference between groups regarding age (non-immigrants: mean 33 years versus women with any migration background: mean 31) as well as parity with more non-immigrants delivering their frst child. No diference in the satisfaction with care was observed between immigrant and any migration background groups (p ≥ 0.093 in the two-sided Fisher’s exact test). At least 75.8% of all participating women reported complete satisfaction with care during labor, birth and after birth. Interestingly, the level of German language profciency did not infuence the immigrant patient’s satisfaction with care. Conclusion The study results show no diference regarding overall satisfaction with care during labor and birth despite a relevant language barrier. We are for the frst time providing the MFMCQ in German and Turkish. Further future analyses on the impact of patient expectations on satisfaction with care will be conducted. Keywords Birth experience · Immigrant health · Obstetric care · Maternal health · Migrant questionnaire Introduction Over the past few years, Germany has seen a signifcant increase in immigration, with an 8.5% surge of people with a migration background in the German population between the years 2015 and 2016 [1]. A recent publication from 2016 by the Federal Statistical Ofce of Germany has shown that approximately 21% of Germany’s inhabitants were either born outside of Germany (immigrants) or are of direct descent of immigrants [2]. An increase has also been observed among the general birth rate in Germany which is partially related to the amount of newly arrived Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-019-05227-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * V. Seidel vera.seidel@charite.de Extended author information available on the last page of the article