Mothers in Exile: maternity experiences of asylum seekers in England found that pregnant women felt marginalised in a system designed for single men. They were often in a state of desperate loneliness and grief and some were treated badly by the maternity services that should be helping them.
The report said, 'Women seeking asylum may arrive in England having lost everything they value: children, partner, parents, extended family, community, home, job, health, money, possessions, culture.
'For those asylum seekers who are pregnant and who give birth in England, the experience of exile casts a long shadow over their experience of motherhood.'
Women in the study describe having to beg from strangers in hospital for nappies for their newborn babies, experiencing indifferent and racist treatment in hospitals and struggling to feed themselves and their babies while living in poverty.
Jenny McLeish, Maternity Alliance social policy officer, said, 'It is scandalous that these frightened and grieving mothers are lost in a system in which they cannot even afford to feed and clothe themselves and their babies. The health professionals must as a matter of urgency root out the shockingly casual racism which some women in this study experienced from those supposedly caring for them in hospital.
'The review of the asylum system in the Government's White Paper is an opportunity for the Home Secretary to put right some of the terrible wrongs of the old system. He has made a good start by abolishing the asylum vouchers. I hope that he will take the chance to ensure that in future all these mothers and their babies are treated with basic humanity and dignity.'
The report is available from the Maternity Alliance for 10 (plus Pounds 1.50 p&p). Contact the Publications Dept, Maternity Alliance, 45 Beech St, London EC2P 2LX, 020 7588 8583.