Doing our best for women seeking asylum

The 1999 Asylum and Immigration Act has had a great impact on the lives of pregnant asylum seekers and their ability to access good maternity care by dispersing them at will throughout the country to prevent destitution. Midwives in this country are striving to provide the best care they can to vulnerable groups, though their ability to do so is impacted by damaging social policy. Pregnant asylum seekers face upheaval, distress and risks to them and their unborn baby by being moved around the country to unsuitable housing, often hundreds of miles from the only people they know, fragmenting their maternity care. This has led to an unacceptable level of maternal mortality in this group of vulnerable women.