Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Dec;17(6):1863-81.
doi: 10.1007/s10903-015-0192-2.

A Systematic Review of the Physical, Mental, Social, and Economic Problems of Immigrant Women in the Perinatal Period in Japan

Sachiko Kita  1 , Mariko Minatani  1 , Naoko Hikita  1 , Masayo Matsuzaki  1 , Mie Shiraishi  1 , Megumi Haruna  2
Affiliations

A Systematic Review of the Physical, Mental, Social, and Economic Problems of Immigrant Women in the Perinatal Period in Japan

Sachiko Kita et al. J Immigr Minor Health. 2015 Dec.

Abstract

The perinatal mortality of immigrants in Japan is higher than that of Japanese women. However, details of the problems of immigrant perinatal women that contribute to worsening of their health are still unknown. This review describes the physical, psychological, social, and economic problems of immigrant women during the perinatal period in Japan. Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Igaku-Chuo Zasshi were searched and 36 relevant articles were reviewed. The related descriptions were collected and analyzed by using content analysis. The results showed that immigrant perinatal women in Japan experienced the following problems: language barriers, a problematic relationship with a partner, illegal residency, emotional distress, physical distress, adjustment difficulties, lack of utilization of services, social isolation, lack of support, lack of information, low economic status, unsatisfactory health care, and discrimination. These results indicated that multilingual services, strengthening of social and support networks, and political action are necessary to resolve their problems.

Keywords: Immigrant women; Japan; Perinatal period; Problems; Review.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Soc Sci Med. 2009 Feb;68(3):452-61 - PubMed
    1. Am J Public Health. 2012 May;102(5):953-66 - PubMed
    1. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 1995 May;24(4):343-51 - PubMed
    1. J Immigr Minor Health. 2014 Feb;16(1):60-7 - PubMed
    1. Soc Sci Med. 2009 Sep;69(6):934-46 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources