Pregnant and seeking asylum: Exploring women's experiences ‘from booking to baby’

Abstract

Pregnant women seeking asylum in the UK may be particularly vulnerable, with poor underlying health, more complex pregnancies and an increased risk of maternal and perinatal mortality. Studies have shown that some women seeking asylum have poor experiences of maternity care. This is despite the implementation of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines to improve care for women with complex social factors. This article reports on a phenomenological study undertaken in West Yorkshire, aiming to explore the maternity care experiences of local, pregnant, asylum-seeking women, to inform service development. Six women were interviewed over a 3-month period. The findings focused more broadly on their experiences of living in the UK while being pregnant and seeking asylum, rather than focusing on maternity care, although this was included. Five key themes emerged: pre-booking challenges; inappropriate accommodation; being pregnant and dispersed; being alone and pregnant; and not being asked or listened to. These findings could be used as a basis for training midwives to understand how the difficulties women experience can have an impact on their health and social needs.

Migrant women’s experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and maternity care in European countries: A systematic review

“…For some migrant women who wanted to access care, there were difficulties in finding the way into the system. The system was unfamiliar and different to that of their country of origin and the women were often unaware of their rights and entitlement to care [34,36,42,53,61,65,72,78,82,83]. There was a lack of information about the services that were available and if the services were free [36, 53,61,82].…”

“…The system was unfamiliar and different to that of their country of origin and the women were often unaware of their rights and entitlement to care [34,36,42,53,61,65,72,78,82,83]. There was a lack of information about the services that were available and if the services were free [36, 53,61,82]. Some women faced difficulties in being accepted for registration for primary healthcare services [36, 53,82], were refused entry to healthcare facilities [75], and struggled to provide the required documentation or insurance that were prerequisites for care [66,80].…”

“…There was a lack of information about the services that were available and if the services were free [36, 53,61,82]. Some women faced difficulties in being accepted for registration for primary healthcare services [36, 53,82], were refused entry to healthcare facilities [75], and struggled to provide the required documentation or insurance that were prerequisites for care [66,80]. Having friends and relatives who had already settled in the new country and could speak the local language helped migrant women find the way into the system, along with NGOs who provided information about entitlement and available services [36,51].…”

“…Having friends and relatives who had already settled in the new country and could speak the local language helped migrant women find the way into the system, along with NGOs who provided information about entitlement and available services [36,51]. Women being held in detention centres were isolated from these sources of help and reported that the way into the system was blocked by detention centre staff who refused or delayed their access to care [35,53].…”

“…I was offered appointments but they were cancelled at short notice without anyone telling me why." (Phillimore 2015, pp.576) [35] Costs related to transportation and payment for care were identified as factors influencing ongoing access to care [34,44,53,61,83]. Those who received free care identified that this enabled them to access care, which was often in contrast to the situation in their country of origin [37, 49,67,81].…”