Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Arabic-speaking women newly settled in the UK have different experiences of healthcare in their original countries which influence their engagement with the NHS. Like other migrant women, they are often unaccustomed to the way health services work. Language, religious and cultural barriers, as well as the lack of family and community supports contribute to inequalities in health and wellbeing outcomes during pregnancy and childbirth. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To address their needs, the ERicar2 project aimed to produce a co-created antenatal care community information resource with a group of these women. Ten participatory workshops over eleven weeks were conducted to listen to the women's stories of their pregnancy journeys, explore publicly available resources, and work together to produce a prototype of an information resource tailored to their community needs. RESULTS: The qualitative findings from the workshops uncovered their experiences of miscarriage, their health seeking behavior, the role of religious belief and digital media, and the importance to them of their reproductive rights. The messages that they had for a newly arrived Arabic speaking woman were incorporated in a letter illustrated with their drawings, addressed to a fictional character "Dila" and containing QR codes to internet sites for pregnancy support. The letter was digitally animated and recorded in English and Arabic by volunteers among the research participants. The ERicar2 online resource is available for use by UK health providers and Arabic-speaking communities. DISCUSSION: Engagement with migrant mothers through participatory co-creative workshops (ERicar) is a model that can be replicated. In a safe community space, women sharing their pregnancy journeys have led to mutual support and research insights for maternal healthcare. Employing bricolage and iterative co-creation methods, women have been able to contribute to an antenatal resource tailored to the needs of an expectant mother recently resettled in the UK.