Banke-Thomas Aduragbemi, Lewis Olayinka, Duduyemi Adeola, Ogunyemi Olakunmi, Nadan Teeroumanee
Maternal Adolescent Reproductive and Child Health Centre, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
School of Human Sciences, University of Greenwich, London, United Kingdom.
PLOS Glob Public Health. 2024 Sep 13;4(9):e0003737. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0003737. eCollection 2024.
Birth tourism, the practice of a woman travelling out of her country of residence to another country to give birth, is common globally. Despite this, there is limited literature on the motivations and experiences of women who gave birth abroad. This study aims to address this gap by seeking to understand the motivations for and experiences of childbirth abroad among Nigerian women. Using purposive and snowball sampling, 27 Nigerian women who had children abroad were recruited via social media platforms. In-depth interviews were conducted remotely, audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed thematically. Braun and Clarke's six-step thematic analysis was used, which included data familiarisation, code generation, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining themes, and producing the report. We found that motivations for seeking childbirth abroad varied based on the mother's desires for their children, needs, and circumstances. These motivations were formed at different times before and after pregnancy and evolved over time. The experience of childbirth abroad is mostly good. However, there are also bad experiences, with some women feeling like they were treated differently because they were "self-paying" patients, "black", or not country residents. The cost of care is deemed exorbitant, but most pay their bills. Support of loved ones around childbirth abroad was considered crucial, although not always available. Through it all, realising the expected and collateral benefits of childbirth abroad made it all worth it. In conclusion, motivation for childbirth abroad varies and evolves. While globalisation, broken health systems, and ongoing sustained economic challenges in Nigeria and similar settings continue to motivate women to seek childbirth abroad, their experiences of childbirth abroad suggest that though it might be greener on the other side, it is not necessarily dark green. Systems are needed to elevate their voices in the public discourse and safeguard them from bad experiences of childbirth abroad.
生育旅游，即女性离开其居住国前往另一个国家分娩的行为，在全球都很常见。尽管如此，关于在国外分娩的女性的动机和经历的文献却很有限。本研究旨在通过试图了解尼日利亚女性在国外分娩的动机和经历来填补这一空白。通过立意抽样和滚雪球抽样，通过社交媒体平台招募了27名在国外生育的尼日利亚女性。进行了远程深度访谈，进行了录音、转录，并进行了主题分析。采用了布劳恩和克拉克的六步主题分析法，包括数据熟悉、代码生成、寻找主题、审查主题、定义主题和撰写报告。我们发现，在国外寻求分娩的动机因母亲对孩子的期望、需求和情况而异。这些动机在怀孕前后的不同时间形成，并随着时间的推移而演变。在国外分娩的经历大多是好的。然而，也有不好的经历，一些女性觉得自己因为是“自费”患者、“黑人”或非本国居民而受到不同对待。护理费用被认为过高，但大多数人还是支付了账单。在国外分娩时亲人的支持被认为至关重要，尽管并不总是能得到。尽管历经种种，但意识到在国外分娩的预期和附带好处让这一切都变得值得。总之，在国外分娩的动机各不相同且不断演变。虽然全球化、破碎的医疗系统以及尼日利亚和类似环境中持续的经济挑战继续促使女性在国外寻求分娩，但她们在国外分娩的经历表明，尽管另一边可能更绿，但不一定是深绿色。需要建立相关制度，让她们的声音在公共话语中得到提升，并保护她们免受在国外分娩的不良经历。
