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Iberoamerican  Journal of Health and CitizenshipIberoamerican  Journal of Health and Citizenship is a peer review journal published by  the IOHC/CIIE of the University of Porto, Portugal. Since 2011, IJHC  publishes scholarly articles that explore significant ideas, issue,  trends, policies and problems in education for health, and in related  disciplines outside the health field, which contribute to the  development of health promotion theory and practice.&#160;Immigration &#38; MaternityAlthough IJHC  is based in Portugal, we very much welcome contributions that&#160; enhance  academic debate from anywhere in the world. Articles are accepted and  published in&#160; Portuguese, English, French or Spanish.&#160;Submitted  manuscripts should not have been previously published. The papers are  subjected to a&#160; &#8216;blind review&#8217; process. The editors reserve the right to  make final decisions about the publication.&#160;Manuscripts should  begin with a structured abstract, include up to 5 keywords, and should  not&#160; exceed 80.000 characters with spaces (for further guidance on  submission, see the journal website at http://www.iohc-pt.org/.&#160;Manuscripts should be sent by email attachment (in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format files) to: healthandcitizenship@fpce.up.pt. The deadline for submission is February 28, 2012.CallMigration trends are an opportunity for the EU as migrants counteract  population ageing, meet the demands of labor markets and make  contributions to economic development and socio-cultural enrichment of  host societies. However, migration is also a challenge: new needs emerge  as the population becomes more heterogeneous and mobile, creating a  need for host societies to adapt for coexistence. One important  challenge concerns the provision of adequate, accessible, appropriate  and quality healthcare to all the population, independently of their  gender, ethnicity and country of origin (Fernandes &#38; Pereira 2009),  assuming that health and healthcare access are a matter of human rights.  The Human Development Report of the United Nations pointed out that  Portugal has shown commitment to improving the integration and living  conditions of migrants. As health play an essential role in the  integration of migrants, access to good quality care is key aspect for  social inclusion/exclusion (Ingleby et al. 2005). Recent migration  trends illustrate the feminization of migration and the increasing  contribution of migrant women to the EU demography. While European women  are having fewer children, migrant women are helping to keep up the  fertility and fecundity rates. Thus, the good state of health of migrant  women and their children is fundamental for the future. Studies showed  that migrant women, who suffer the healthy migrant effect in the  beginning, present worse health indicators: higher levels of maternal  mortality, neo-natal and child mortality, malnutrition and under-weight  babies, problems with delivery, lower rates of perinatal controls, more  miscarriages, abortions or pre-term delivery, worse mental health status  with higher risks of postpartum depression, among others (Bartlett et  al. 2002; Carballo &#38; Nerukar 2001; Machado et al. 2007). Other  studies showed positive aspects of pregnant migrant women that could be  reinforced, such as higher level of breastfeeding, healthier diets and  less tobacco consumption during pregnancy (Machado et al. 2007).  Research in this field has received much attention in other contexts.  However, in Portugal is recent and less developed. There have been some  new developments associated to increasing migration, but still little is  known about the maternal health of migrant women.All these factors indicate the urgent need for this research. This  project focuses on health citizenship of migrant pregnant women, as a  first step to enact citizenship rights.&#160;&#160; Citizenship is an old concept  associated with rights and duties granted to the members of certain  community. With the emergence and development of modern Nation States,  national governments became the central in granting citizenship,  establishing distinctions between nationals (citizens) and foreigners  (non-citizens) (Aleinikoff &#38; Klusmeyer 2002). Health citizenship  emphasizes that health as a matter of human rights, implying the  &#8220;growing involvement of the citizen in assuming more responsibilities in  health and making informed health decisions (Padilla 2008). Portugal  recognizes the right of migrants to access the National Health System.  The law ensures access to health care for all citizens regardless of  their legal status, however, in practice, several obstacles are  identified (language and cultural miscommunication, lack of information,  lack of cultural competence of health professionals, administrative  resistance). Looking at health and access implies the consideration of  the interplay between culture, social inequalities and social exclusion.  Lack of economic resources, poor housing and precarious working  conditions are associated with poorer&#160; health due to insufficient and&#160;  inadequate nutrition, overcrowded and inadequately housing, risky  working conditions, and unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, alcohol  consumption and poor&#160; exercise. The presence of these risk factors in  pregnant women could have a negative impact not only on themselves but  also on their children&#8217;s development and health. Other important  aspects are the empowerment of immigrant women and the promotion of  cultural competence, emphasizing the interconnection between&#160; theory  &#38; practice and paying attention to &#8220;good practices&#8221; in the field of maternal health care, and developing a multi-method needs assessment to identify and tackle existing health needs. Manuscripts due: February 28, 2012 Editors     Susana Novick, Universidad de Buenos Aires     Beatriz Padilla, CIES &#8211; ISCTE, University Institute of Lisbon     Jos&#233; M. Peixoto Caldas, University of Porto &#160;