Maternal health: exploring the lived experiences of pregnant women seeking asylum (24 February 2022)

Summary

This report by the charity Maternity Action looked at the lived experience of pregnant women seeking asylum in the UK. It highlights that pregnant women face barriers in accessing appropriate housing and nutrition during pregnancy, and that midwives and voluntary sector organisations play an important role in supporting pregnant women seeking asylum.

Content

The report highlights specific threats to health for pregnant women and new mothers with young children, for example:

• stress and poor nutrition affecting the growth of an unborn baby and subsequent difficulties breastfeeding
• swelling and skin conditions from having to wash clothes by hand
• pelvic pain from climbing multiple flights of stairs
• health impacts such as rashes and asthma in young children that had resulted from poor housing conditions, including damp.

It also draws attention to serious failings where policies in place to promote and protect maternal health are not being followed and implemented by the agencies responsible for the asylum support system. This included in relation to dispersal experiences, additional financial entitlements and the way the system exacerbated rather than reduced stress for pregnant women.