Kontakt 2019, 21(4):380-387 | DOI: 10.32725/kont.2019.041

"It is better to treat a Vietnamese woman than a Czech": Strange interactions between healthcare professionals and women in the context of perinatal careNursing - Original article

Alena Glajchová *
University of West Bohemia, Faculty of Philosophy and Arts, Department of Sociology, Pilsen, Czech Republic

The periods of pregnancy, childbirth and becoming a mother are some of the most important moments in a woman's life - and they are usually experienced within a healthcare institution. However, contact with the healthcare system during these periods can bring a number of difficulties and barriers for women with other nationality than Czech and affect interactions between them and healthcare professionals. The aim of this text is to explain how the category "foreigner" is established, and what "strangeness" means for healthcare professionals in relation to women within the context of perinatal care. The qualitative research was focused on healthcare professionals' experiences with women of different nationality. During the research, several in-depth interviews, non-participant observations and informal interviews were conducted. Healthcare professionals distinguish two categories of women who were not born in the Czech Republic - "our foreigners" and "migrants" - with regard to geographical and cultural proximity within their everyday practice. Foreign-born women are perceived by healthcare professionals as "obedient" patients who don't disrupt the routine of everyday medical practice. However, "strangeness" is not interpreted by healthcare professionals on the basis of a different nationality, but mainly due to problematic communication, non-cooperation, mistrust, and challenging women.

Keywords: Communication; Language barriers; Migration; Perinatal care; Stigma; Strangeness

Received: January 16, 2019; Accepted: September 17, 2019; Prepublished online: October 2, 2019; Published: December 13, 2019  Show citation

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Glajchová A. "It is better to treat a Vietnamese woman than a Czech": Strange interactions between healthcare professionals and women in the context of perinatal care. Kontakt. 2019;21(4):380-387. doi: 10.32725/kont.2019.041.
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