Are women with and without migration background reached equally well by health services? The example of antenatal care in Berlin

About 20% of the population in Germany has a migration background (1st generation: immigrated themselves; 2nd generation: offspring of immigrants), which can be associated with health differentials. We assessed whether differentials in uptake of antenatal care (ANC) observed in earlier studies still persist today. Data collection in 3 obstetric hospitals in Berlin, Germany, over a 1-year period 2011/2012. We conducted standardised interviews before delivery and linked the data to routinely collected perinatal data and to data from participants' antenatal cards. We checked for confounders using regression models. Of the 7100 study participants (response 89.6%), 57.9% had a migration background. First ANC attendance occurred in pregnancy weeks 3-19 in 92.1% of 1st generation immigrants vs. 97.8% of non-immigrants (mean week of first attendance: 1st generation immigrants with residence < 5 years: 13.0; 5+ years: 9.9; non-immigrants 9.7). A low ANC utilisation with ≤ 5 visits was found in 644 women (9.1%). Among the non-immigrants there were 7.1% low users, among 1st generation immigrants 11.8% (among women with no German language skills 33.0%, however). Uptake of non-medical support measures was lower among women with migration background. In our sample from Berlin, migration background had little effect on ANC uptake. Neither own migration nor low acculturation were independent risk factors for late onset or low utilisation of ANC. However, a small subgroup of women with a short duration of residence in Germany and with German language problems had a lower chance of timely onset and sufficient participation in ANC. This group needs special attention.