PREGNANT migrant women in Britain and their unborn children are being put in danger because they have to pay for midwifery, the profession’s union warned today.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said that the heartless policy deters some pregnant migrants from seeking help because they fear they can’t afford it.

The union said that making migrants pay for health treatment had created stark inequalities in medical treatment, with already vulnerable migrant women being put in even greater danger.

Midwives met at Parliament today to launch a new report giving a stark picture of government policy’s cruel effects.

They demanded that ministers “scrap punitive NHS charging of pregnant vulnerable migrant women.”

The RCM said that many migrant women could already be in very difficult and dangerous social situations, including dependence on exploitative relationships for survival, destitution, homelessness and involvement in criminal activity in which they may have little choice, if any.

RCM professional policy adviser Clare Livingstone said: “A woman’s immigration status should never be a deciding factor on whether she can access pregnancy care — but for some women, this is the case, and that is shameful.

“The system puts barriers between them and our maternity services that can hinder them from using them, such as the fear of being charged when many cannot afford it.

“Because of this, I have real fears that many of these women are not engaging with maternity services, are falling through the cracks and are not getting the safe maternity care they need.

“This can have serious consequences [for] the safety and outcome of their pregnancy for them and their baby.” 

Ms Livingstone said that women from black and Asian backgrounds, including many migrants, are more likely than white women to die in and around pregnancy.

“This is a shocking indictment for a nation that prides itself on championing equality for all,” she said.

Ms Livingstone said that immediately abolishing charges for healthcare for migrants is imperative.

“This message and the support these women need must start on the UK’s doorstep with immigration and border services and run right through the doors into maternity units,” she said. “This is fundamentally about providing safer care for these women, and that must override any other considerations.”