Maternal Health Disparities Among Immigrant Women: Challenges and Opportunities for Community Support
By Citlali Rodriguez
Introduction
As members of the current AmeriCorps cohort focused on health equity, we’ve seen the profound impact of addressing systemic disparities. In honor of Maternal Health Awareness Day on January 23, this post will focus specifically on the Birth Equity project that AmeriCorps Members support, for which we screen patients who are pregnant or postpartum for social needs, provide resources and referrals to help address those needs, and help connect patients to pre- and post-natal care providers to ensure they have access to the healthcare they need.
In our work with Birth Equity patients, AmeriCorps Members often encounter individuals navigating complex barriers to maternal care. Many of our colleagues also work closely with individuals seeking health insurance or support as asylum seekers, providing a unique window into the intersecting challenges faced by these populations. These experiences underscore the vital role we play in fostering equitable healthcare access for all.
Understanding Maternal Health Disparities
Maternal health encompasses a woman’s health during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postnatal period. According to the World Health Organization, each stage should be a positive experience, ensuring both mother and child achieve their full potential for health and well-being. However, for many immigrant women, systemic barriers hinder access to timely and adequate care, resulting in heightened risks for themselves and their infants.
About one-quarter of U.S. newborns have mothers who are immigrants.
In 2010 alone, nearly 1 million births were to foreign-born mothers.
Immigrant women are less likely than U.S.-born women to have a usual source of care and more likely to delay or inadequately access prenatal care.
In our work, it’s clear that these statistics are more than just numbers—they represent real families facing significant hurdles to safe and healthy pregnancies.
Stories Behind the Statistics
Real-life experiences provide a human face to the data:
Fear of deportation kept one woman from seeking care, even during labor.
Another struggled with canceled appointments while in detention, lacking any maternity services.
A lack of interpreters led to miscommunication, creating frustration and even jeopardizing care.
These stories remind us of the humanity behind the systemic challenges, emphasizing the need for culturally competent, trauma-informed healthcare.
Barriers to Maternal Health Access
The obstacles immigrant women face in maternal healthcare are multi-faceted and often interconnected:
Financial and legal barriers: Undocumented immigrants, who make up 26% of the immigrant population, are ineligible for federal programs like Medicaid, severely limiting access to affordable care.
Language barriers: Many healthcare settings lack interpreters, creating significant communication challenges.
Transportation issues: Without reliable transportation, attending appointments becomes a hurdle.
Cultural insensitivity: A lack of training in cultural humility and trauma-informed care restricts equitable care delivery.
Fear and distrust: Experiences of discrimination and fear of legal repercussions deter many from seeking help.
In our role with AmeriCorps, we’ve seen these barriers reflected in the lives of Birth Equity patients, who often face overlapping challenges that compound their risk.
Promoting Equity Through Community Engagement
Our work as AmeriCorps members offers us the opportunity to address these systemic inequities:
Enhancing healthcare navigation: By partnering with colleagues who specialize in health insurance access or asylum seeker support, we can offer immigrant mothers clearer pathways to resources and care.
Expanding cultural competence: Encouraging provider training in cultural humility and trauma-informed care ensures more inclusive healthcare delivery.
Integrating telehealth: Digital solutions can help address transportation challenges while providing culturally sensitive, remote consultations.
Supporting mental health: Addressing the trauma many immigrant women face before, during, and after migration can significantly improve maternal outcomes.
Community-driven solutions: By leveraging local partnerships, we can amplify the impact of existing resources while creating new opportunities for collaboration.
Looking Forward: A Call to Action
The challenges immigrant women face in maternal health access are deeply intertwined with broader systemic issues. As community health advocates, we have a responsibility to foster equitable, supportive healthcare environments. Our work with Birth Equity patients and collaboration with colleagues in health insurance and asylum seeker services demonstrates how interconnected efforts can create meaningful change. Together, we can work toward a future where every mother and child—regardless of immigration status—has the opportunity to thrive.