This project, which is funded by Wellcome, explores migrant women’s experiences of maternity care within the NHS in the north of England.  The project is interested in how these experiences are shaped by the wider social context, especially border controls within the NHS, NHS budget cuts and restructuring, and state and social anxieties around women’s roles in reproducing the nation.

I want to answer the following questions:

  • How do migrant women experience maternity care on the NHS?
  • How are their experiences shaped by the wider context of the funding crisis within the NHS, and increasing immigration restrictions?
  • Are particular groups of migrants more vulnerable to obstructions and exclusions than others?  Why?
  • How do midwives support and care for pregnant migrants and migrant mothers?
  • How do midwives understand their role in ‘internal bordering’ processes?
  • How has the restructuring of the NHS influenced migrant women’s experiences of maternity care?
  • How do local institutions, organisations, and networks, influence migrant women’s experiences of maternity care?

To answer these questions, I will be doing semi-structured interviews and focus groups with migrant women and NHS staff in Manchester, Leeds and Kirklees.  You can find out more information about how to get involved here.

I am committed to working with community groups to ensure the findings from this project are helpful to pregnant migrants and supporters.  At the end of the project, I will be holding workshops with community groups and other stakeholders where we discuss the findings and how we can make use of them moving forward.  More information for community groups interested in the outcomes of this project can be found here.