Mobile translators for non-English-speaking women accessing maternity services

Communication skills are fundamental to midwifery (Nicholls and Webb, 2006; Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), 2009). Communication errors occur when the message becomes distorted; this can be due to the ‘sender’ and ‘receiver’ speaking a different language (Dysart-Gale, 2007). With an increasingly global society, it is becoming more common for contemporary midwifery practice to involve caring for recently-migrated women who speak different languages. This creates the potential for communication errors to occur due to language barriers.

As well as difficulties in communicating in English, recently-arrived migrant women tend to have poor underlying health and more complicated pregnancies, which can result in an increased risk of maternal and perinatal mortality (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), 2010; Centre for Maternal and Child Enquiries (CMACE), 2011). Poor communication between staff and pregnant women is one of the most pervasive threats to patient safety (Paul and Schyve, 2007) and CMACE suggests that language barriers may have had an influence on the death of 26 women between 2006–2008 (CMACE, 2011). These women were not able to provide a full medical history, which resulted in inappropriate clinical decision-making (CMACE, 2011). In addition, adequate communication is essential for acquiring informed consent from a woman when performing any examination or intervention; without this consent, the midwife could be accused of undertaking a physical assault (Dimond, 2006).