Experiences of Pregnant Migrant Women receiving Ante/Peri and Postnatal Care in the UK – A Doctors of the World Report. This report focuses on the healthcare experience of vulnerable pregnant migrant women seen in Doctors of the World’s London drop-in clinic in 2013 and 2014.
“Access to good antenatal care is known to improve maternal and child outcomes and not having the correct standard of care can result in pregnancy associated complications for the mothers and their unborn children. We know from the general migrant population who access the clinic that fear of debt and being arrested are significant deterrents to accessing healthcare. We also know that people face administrative barriers by being asked to produce documentation that they do not have.
We found evidence that the pregnant migrant women who access the London drop-in clinic in the majority of cases did not have a GP, despite being in the UK for on average 4.6 years at the time of delivery. In the majority of cases they were accessing maternity care later than is recommended and had fewer than the recommended number of antenatal appointments. This puts these women at increased risk of pregnancy-related complications. Two of the 35 women we were able to follow-up lost their babies and in both cases they received a bill for their hospital care.”
