| Summary: | The Icelandic midwifery model of birth stresses the importance of the normalcy of birth, but for migrant women raised in a culture of highly medicalized antenatal care, the adjustment to “normalcy” may not be as intuitive. In this thesis, ten migrant Polish women living and working in Iceland are interviewed about their first-time pregnancy and labor experiences at Landspítali, Iceland’s University Hospital, and examined through thematic analysis. This is an inductive, qualitative study utilizing discourse analysis and grounded theory frameworks to analyze interviews with Polish immigrants who have given birth solely in the Icelandic healthcare system. Ten women between the ages of 27 and 40 years participated in the study, having given birth between the years 2016 and 2023. This study explores what types of support are offered to immigrants by the Icelandic maternal health sector in relation to navigating the Icelandic model of care and if these supports can be improved upon. Through thematic analysis of these interviews, key themes including a desire for self-attained knowledge, pregnancy and labor experiences, and relationships with midwives are discussed. The findings of this study suggest that the state does not provide enough support for Polish immigrant women as first-time mothers or mothers-to-be. In spite of the lack of accessible resources provided by the state, participants in this study give insight to a transnational network of Polish doulas, mothers and mothers-to-be who have gained and share their own experiential knowledge on and familiarity with the Icelandic maternal health sector. Due to the small sample size of this study, the cannot be generalized to the entire population, but provides important insight on the subject of support for migrant women in the Icelandic maternal care system
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