Investigating cultural conflicts in everyday self-care among Chinese first-time pregnant migrants in Australia

Abstract

Background: Given the fast-growing migration and globalisation trends in the last decades, women increasingly experienced pregnancy as migrants and often faced complex and unique challenges related to both migration and pregnancy in a foreign land, affecting their psychological wellbeing during pregnancy. Cultural conflicts between pregnant migrants’ home and host cultures could play a critical role affecting their pregnancy experiences and psychological wellbeing. Aims: This study aimed to explore cultural conflicts that challenge Chinese first-time expectant mothers living in Australia regarding their pregnancy self-care and their psychological wellbeing. Method: A qualitative methodology was adopted utilising interpretative phenomenological analysis. Participants were 18 Chinese-born first-time pregnant migrants in Australia. A semi-structured interview schedule focused on their pregnancy self-care and psychological wellbeing and any effects of Chinese-Western/Australian cultural conflicts. Findings: Two psychosocial approaches were identified to explain how all the participants were psychologically challenged by self-care cultural conflicts to some extent: 1) challenging decision-making processes about self-care cultural conflicts and 2) interpersonal tension if the decisions conflicted with someone’s advice/beliefs/opinions. Conclusion: Emotional, cognitive, and social factors were relevant in shaping the participants’ engagement with and their experiences of various pregnancy self-care activities.