Illegal female immigrants in The Netherlands have unmet needs in sexual and reproductive health

Abstract

Objectives. To determine the reproductive health problems of illegal female immigrants and what obstacles they experience when seeking help for these problems.

Methods. One hundred illegal female immigrants in The Netherlands aged more than 18 years were provided with a structured list of common reproductive and sexual health problems. Further semi-structured interviews were conducted regarding their experiences with reproductive health facilities.

Results. Obstacles accessing reproductive health facilities were frequently reported. Illegal female immigrants were not able to exercise control over their own reproductive and sexual health. The reasons for obstacles accessing reproductive health facilities include lack of information about reproductive health services and contraception, problems with paying for services, sexual and physical violence and fear of deportation. Obstacles accessing reproductive health facilities resulted in lacking or delayed pregnancy care (19% never received antenatal care), infrequent use of contraception and high abortion rates (64.9/1000). Of all interviewed women, 70% reported gynaecologic or sexual problems, and 28% reported past exposure to sexual violence.

Conclusions. The reproductive health status of illegal female immigrants in The Netherlands is worrisome. There is an urgent need to empower illegal women through education. The Dutch government should make efforts to improve access to reproductive health and family planning services.

Keywords:

• Migration
• qualitative methods
• reproductive medicine
• sexual health
• sexual violence

Acknowledgements

We thank M. Straver and V. Husejnova for recruiting participants for the study and executing parts of the interviews. We thank Hans Bor for statistical advice. Approval for the study was obtained from the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre Ethical Committee (nr: CMO 2005/204). Supported by the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment and the ‘Innovatie fonds Zorgverzekeraars’ (innovation fund of health care) the funding sources had no involvement and no influence on the content of the manuscript.