Blog - Challenging inadequate asylum support for pregnant women (9 May 2022)

Summary

Pregnant women seeking asylum in the UK face many challenges in accessing healthcare and support during pregnancy and after birth. In this blog, Ros Bragg, director of Maternity Action, highlights evidence the organisation recently gave to the Women and Equalities Select Committee as part of their inquiry into equality and the UK asylum system.

She highlights the inadequate level of financial support given to pregnant women seeking asylum, which means they are not able to eat healthily or buy necessary equipment during the perinatal period. She also draws attention to the fact that recent updates to the Home Office policy on dispersal for pregnant women - that state that they should not be moved more than once during pregnancy, and should be moved to suitable accommodation - are not being followed in practice. This prevents women seeking asylum from accessing consistent healthcare and building trust and relationships with midwives and other healthcare professionals.