Introduction and Aim:

Refugees are defined as the most disadvantaged people and vulnerable to many inequality. There are almost 3.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, Women and children consist 75% of them. Large majority of women and girls are at fertile ages. Women and girls are more disadvantage in times of humanitarian crises. The aim of this study is to provide a better understanding of reproductive healthcare needs, contraceptive practice and maternal-child health of Syrian women refugees in Turkey.

Materials and Methods:

This descriptive survey was conducted between July and September 2018 in Gaziantep metropolitan municipality art and vocational education courses (GASMEK). Almost 470 Syrian refugee women registered, while the assessment of 257 women were reached. Our questionnaire had 42 questions on utilization of reproductive and maternal-child healthcare services and knowledge and usage of contraceptive methods in Arabic language. The data was collected by using face to face interview by a native speaker. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analyses were conducted with IBM SPSS 20.0. A value of P<0.05 denoted a statistically significant difference. The study was approved by ethical committee of Inonu University, also research permission was taken from GASMEK.

Results:

The mean age of the participants was 30.2 ±8.83 years, the median age was 28, youngest and oldest participants werebetween 18-49 years. Of them 59.5% had secondary school graduation or below. Those who can speak Turkish language sufficiently consist 45.9%. Refugee women speaking Turkish more used to health care facilities for any health problems (p=0.07) and had more psychosocial support (p=0.013) than who do not speak Turkish. Women without regular monthly incomes were more likely to apply for health facilities regarding periodic pregnancy follow up examinations (p=0.012); the women with regular income could reach to delivery services more than who do not have (p=0.024). Currently, out of the participants; 36.2% were using contraceptive methods while 35.4% did not know how to use contraceptive methods. 11.5% of them had never heard of  “tubal ligation”, 10.8% “injection” and 10.4% “birth control pill“. The first three contraceptive methods used by the participants were “condoms” (31.8%), “intrauterine device” (26.5%) and “withdrawal” (24.9%).

Discussion and Recommendations:

In our study, we found that the reproductive health needs of Syrian refugee women were not adequately met. This study shows that Syrian women find reproductive health, contraceptive methods usage and maternal-child health care procedures unsatisfactory. Low-income Syrian women who do not speak Turkish should be given more priority in reproductive health services. With this approach, we can improve the health content and achieve the best results through timely effective intervention of women.

Keywords: Syrian Refugee Women, Reproductive Healthcare, Contraceptive practice