Pregnant, parenting and a long way from home: international students accessing pregnancy related care in Victoria

<p>This qualitatively driven, mixed methods research explores international students’ access to pregnancy-related health care services in Victoria, seeking to illuminate policy impacts on individuals. Effective, timely access to pregnancy care is a basic human right, vital to the health of women and babies. International students are considered Medicare-ineligible non-Australians and are excluded from Australia’s universal public health insurance system. They must instead hold private health insurance, Overseas Student Health Cover. This is intended to provide similar cover as Medicare – however, when international students need antenatal, postnatal or paediatric care, they often find that their OSHC insurance is invalid or inadequate. Women and babies miss out on care considered essential for Medicare-entitled Australians.</p> <p>I examined this phenomenon from two perspectives. I conducted semi-structured interviews with ten international students who gave birth in Victoria, and reviewed clinicians’ documentation in the health care records of 206 international student visa holders (195 adults and 11 infants) who attended the Mercy Hospital for Women for pregnancy-related care in 2012–2013. This was the year following an important change to the OSHC regulations that permitted insurance companies to impose a 12-month waiting period for pregnancy-related care.</p> <p>This is the first social work research in Victoria that explores the lived experiences of international students accessing health services during and after pregnancy. It demonstrates that international students encounter major barriers in obtaining pregnancy-related services. Barriers can intersect with medical and/or emotional health concerns, and insufficient support, jeopardising women’s welfare and security. Based on the study findings, suggestions are made for improved care of future pregnant and parenting international students in Victoria.</p>