Modesty during childbirth : perspectives of immigrant Muslim women in Canada

According to the Qur'an, modesty, the need to cover one's body, especially in the presence of members of the opposite sex, is an important principle for all Muslims. Maintaining modesty becomes a significant issue, especially for immigrant Muslim women when they experience childbirth in a country, such as Canada, where health care professionals who specialize in obstetrics and gynecology can be both women and men. The purpose of this study was to understand Muslim women's ideas toward maintaining modesty in the specific context of childbirth. I used a qualitative inquiry approach to conduct interviews with four immigrant Muslim women who experienced childbirth at different hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area. The findings showed that while the views of participants towards modesty sometimes differed, their views toward modesty in the specific context of childbirth were similar, in that they all wanted to be cared for by exclusively female health care professionals and they all wanted to have their bodies covered as much as possible, for as long as possible (during their childbirth experiences) and as soon as possible (after delivery) to ensure minimal exposure. Recommendations are provided to improve care of Muslim women undergoing childbirth at hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area.