A Systematic Review of the Physical, Mental, Social, and Economic Problems of Immigrant Women in the Perinatal Period in Japan

The perinatal mortality of immigrants in Japan is higher than that of Japanese women. However, details of the problems of immigrant perinatal women that contribute to worsening of their health are still unknown. This review describes the physical, psychological, social, and economic problems of immigrant women during the perinatal period in Japan. Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Igaku-Chuo Zasshi were searched and 36 relevant articles were reviewed. The related descriptions were collected and analyzed by using content analysis. The results showed that immigrant perinatal women in Japan experienced the following problems: language barriers, a problematic relationship with a partner, illegal residency, emotional distress, physical distress, adjustment difficulties, lack of utilization of services, social isolation, lack of support, lack of information, low economic status, unsatisfactory health care, and discrimination. These results indicated that multilingual services, strengthening of social and support networks, and political action are necessary to resolve their problems.