De Kansrijke Start, Door de Ogen van de ‘Kwetsbare’ Zwangere Vrouw. Een kwalitatief onderzoek naar de ervaringen van ‘kwetsbare’ zwangere vrouwen over het voeren van hun eigen regie om een kansrijke start te bieden voor hun kind in de gemeente Utrecht

Abstract

Pregnant women in a vulnerable situation seem by a complexity of stressors to have a higher risk to give their unborn child an adversary start, especially for women with a different ethnic-cultural background. Little is known about how these women pursue empowerment about stressors in life from their perspective. Qualitative research could give more insight into the complex factors that affect the empowerment of Utrechts pregnant women in a vulnerable situation. Insights in the experience, stressors and needs of these women in relation to empowerment on micro-, meso-, exo-, and macro level were conducted by means of 14 semi-structured interviews. In current research the main result is that women experience stressors on all levels, such as a lack of preparation for pregnancy and motherhood, the absence of having an informal network, and not finding the proper formal care, due to stigmatization of low SES-neighbourhood and ethnic-cultural background of the women. In conclusion, it can be said cautiously that pregnant women in a vulnerable situation in the municipality of Utrecht can pursue empowerment with social support and if they can receive formal care and support, when they experience stressors on micro-, meso-, exo-, and macrolevel. It seems to be important that the care and support in Utrecht tries to connect more to these women, by centring the needs of these women.