Page 23 - Non-western women in maternity care in the Netherlands • Exploring ‘inadequate’ use of prenatal care and the experiences of care professionals

their non-western clients. The midwives sometimes referred to this belief in doctors as believing in ‘the impression of the white coat’. They talked about situations where non-western clients were anxious or worried about the pregnancy or the coming birth. In some of these cases, the clients could only be reassured by consulting an obstetrician who could convince them that everything was okay.
You notice that some people find it very pleasant to come here. They really like the fact that we are women and also emphasise it. But at the same time, they’d [some people] actually also like it if we wore white coats – that would be even better, so to speak. The white coat is actually part of it. Therein lies the duality sometimes, I think. There are still a lot of people who only feel they are being taken seriously when they are referred to a hospital or when they are in hospital. (R8)
Aiming for optimal care in the interests of both mother and child
Even though midwives sometimes experienced challenging situations in the provision of care to non-western clients, they all talked about their willingness and efforts to achieve optimal care in the interests of mother and child.
Being alert and proactive
One of the ways some midwives tried to achieve optimal care for non- western clients was by being alert. They do this by asking clients to recite the information given to them, checking whether they have the necessities for childbirth and the baby, keeping an updated overview of clients who have missed appointments and checking clients’ knowledge of the Dutch maternity care system. Some midwives also try to be proactive. Clients who do not show up for appointments are called and asked to explain the reason for missing the appointment and to make a new appointment. In cases of language difficulties, extra time is reserved for consultations. Because of anticipated difficulties in locating the laboratory or ultrasound clinic, clients may be given a printout from a route planner. In the case of a client with lower socioeconomic status, some midwives call the maternity care agency and ask them to assign an experienced maternity care assistant to these clients. Some midwives also place additional emphasis on the benefits of breastfeeding to clients who prefer formula feeding but cannot
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