Background: Female refugees and immigrants also need sexual and reproductive health care and counselling. Methods: The legal framework and existing services are described. Special attention is given to culture sensitive counselling, contraception and unfulfilled desire to have children. Results: There are many barriers to access like missing or restricted health insurance coverage, precarious living conditions as refugees, language barriers, and cultural differences. While prenatal care is usually offered and used, contraceptive care is often delayed, and the wish for a child, although very urgent for the patient, is given little weight. Conclusion: Counselling and health care, which take the clients’ particular needs into account, are based on knowledge about their current living conditions as well as legal and practical options of (health) care, but also an awareness of their cultural background including education, health knowledge, and commitment to religion. © 2017, Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH.

communication barriers Delivery of health care Contraception Cultural background cultural competency

female communication barrier Reproductive Health Review refugee Contraception prenatal care sexual health health care patient counseling human sexual counseling migrant health care delivery