Chapter 13: The perceptions and experiences of Antenatal care among Lao, Cambodian and Vietnamese Women
Overview
It has been acknowledged among health care providers in Western countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia that antenatal care is a main factor in preventing low birthweight as well as other "adverse pregnancy outcomes" (Murray and Bernfield, 1988; Hakala and Ylikorkalo, 1989; Lia- Hoagberg et al., 1990). In the US, Greenberg (1984) and Showstack et al. (1984) have pointed out that women with no antenatal care are three times more likely to give birth to low birthweight babies than those who receive early and continuous care during pregnancy. Low birthweight infants are more likely to develop chronic and handicapping conditions (Hughes et al., 1986) and die in the first year of life (McCormick et al, 1984). There has also been evidence that women from low-income families and minority groups (e.g. African Americans, Native Americans and other ethnic groups) are at greater risk for giving birth to low birthweight babies (Gortmaker, 1979; Gardner and Goldenberg, 1995).
Despite the fact that antenatal care has become a commonly accepted health service for pregnant women (Haertsch et al, 1996), it is only in the last decade that researchers and health professionals have become more interested in antenatal care and its users in most Western countries. Most studies have looked at those who do not seek or delay seeking antenatal care as well as barriers to antenatal care. A review of trends in use of antenatal care reveals consistently that the underutilisation of antenatal care is most marked in the more disadvantaged groups. Women living in poverty, women from minority groups, unmarried women, and women with high parity are those who are least likely to obtain adequate antenatal care (Ingram et al, 1986; Institute of Medicine, 1988; St Clair et al., 1989; Kalmuss and Fennelly, 1990; Gardner et al., 1996). In a study by Ventura et al. (1995) comparing the use of antenatal care by African-American, Hispanic and white women, for example, the researchers found that the two ethnic groups were less likely to obtain care in the first trimester than were white women.
Speaker/ Author
PRANEE LIAMPUTTONG RICE
Pranee was born in a small Malay town in the south of Thailand. She received her undergraduate and master's degrees from a Thai university. Pranee came to Australia to undertake her doctoral degree at Monash University in 1982. She has two daughters. Pranee is Senior Lecturer at the School of Public Health, La Trobe University, Australia. Previously she taught in the La Trobe School of Sociology and Anthropology. Her particular interests are in issues related to cultural and social influences on childbearing, childrearing and women's reproductive health. She has published several books and papers in these areas. Three of her books have been used widely in the health area: My 40 Days: A Crosscultural Resource Book for Health Care Professionals in Birthing Services (1993); Asian Mothers, Australian Birth (editor, 1994); and Maternity and Reproductive Health in Asian Societies (editor, with Lenore Manderson, 1996). Her most recent books are Qualitative Research Methods: A Health Focus (with Douglas Ezzy, in press) and Living in a New Country: Understanding Migrants' Health (editor, in press).
CHARIN NAKSOOK
Charin was born in central Thailand and graduated from Chulalongkorn University. She worked with the Education Ministry in Thailand and UNESCO Bangkok before coming to Australia in 1989 under the Monash Graduate Scholarship Program. She gained her PhD from Monash University in 1994. With a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from La Trobe University, Charin studied cultural practices and childbirth among Thai woman in Australia. Her other work included a cultural awareness research and training guide for health professionals on sexual and reproductive health of women from non-English-speaking backgrounds. This project was undertaken in conjunction with Women in Industry and Community Health Inc (WICH). At present she is working on a research project led by Dr Pranee Liamputtong Rice on childbirth and the health of Southeast Asian women.
NAM DOAN
Nam was born in Vietnam and came to Australia in 1985. She is married with four children. Nam completed her Bachelor of Arts in Interpreting and Translating (Vietnamese and English) at Deakin University in 1991. She has since worked as an interpreter and translator, a union recruitment officer and a case manager (employment). She moved into the research area in mid-1996 and has since been working for La Trobe University on a study of the influence of cultural beliefs and practices on childbirth among Southeast Asian women. She has also been engaged in another study of the experiences of non-English-speaking background women and their access to the health care system. This study is being done by La Trobe University in collaboration with Springvale Community Health Centre in the southeastern suburbs of Melbourne.
CHANDORAVANN DY
Chandoravann was born in Cambodia. She came to Australia, under the Australian Humanitarian Program in 1982. A variety of positions held and life experiences in Australia and in a refugee camp in Thailand, combined with her first twenty years of life in Cambodia, have given her a wide-ranging understanding of health and cross-cultural issues among immigrants and refugees in different communities. She completed a BA in multicultural studies, with a major in sociology, at Victoria University in Melbourne. She is also a qualified childbirth/parenting educator. At present Chandoravann is working as a Research Assistant at the School of Public Health at La Trobe University and as a Community Development worker at Springvale Community Health Centre.
BOUNGNOU PHAOSIHAVONG
Boungnou was born in Laos. Boungnou arrived in Australia as a refugee with five children in 1981. Since her arrival in Australia, she has undertaken several courses and worked in a voluntary capacity with the Lao community, holding a number of executive positions. Boungnou has undertaken fulltime study and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts in Community Development from Victoria University in 1991. Her current work is as a community development worker with the Lao Australian Welfare Association and as a research assistant in the School of Public Health at La Trobe University.
LYNDSEY WATSON
Lyndsey was born in New Zealand and moved to Melbourne when she was 15 years old. She obtained her BSc in 1963 and her master's degree in 1990. She worked in industrial research, secondary school teaching and in the NSW Health Department before having her three children. Since 1982, she has worked in medical or public health research including a bowel cancer case-control study, AIDS epidemic predictions, nursing research and research associated with mothers' and children's health. At present she is the statistician at the Centre for the Study of Mothers' and Children's Health, Monash University.
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