Far right contentious claims about immigration and midwife services must be contested, says Cathy Warwick
It would be an understatement to say I was shocked to discover the British National Party had recently used findings from the Royal College of Midwives’ annual staff survey on its website to argue that immigration was putting pressure on NHS maternity services.
The RCM absolutely rejects the BNP’s rhetoric of racism and hate, along with its assertion that immigration is a problem. It is not. This country has always been a country of immigrants, and these immigrants have contributed to its success, including many foreign-born midwives. Our 2007 Pay Review Body Evidence showed that the black population, which forms 2 per cent of the British population, represents 4.2 per cent of staff in the National Health Service and constitutes 7 per cent of midwives. Those classifying themselves as Chinese are also over-represented in the midwifery workforce, compared to their proportion of the population as a whole, by a ratio of three to one.
These figures show that many midwives were born outside the United Kingdom. Without them, the NHS would be genuinely on its knees. Immigrants are here because the British were in their countries, reaping the benefits of the British Empire. These men and women have come from around the world to work in our health service to provide care to people of this country. Immigrants working for the NHS are an asset, not a burden.
Further, we challenge the numbers being used by the BNP to scapegoat foreign-born mothers. Being described by the BNP as a “foreign-born” mother is fairly meaningless. Many British women were born overseas, as the daughters of members of the armed forces stationed overseas, such as Joanna Lumley, who was born in Srinagar, India. Does the BNP include her in its definition of foreign-born mothers? Would it want her to be repatriated to where she was born? Some women may have been born in another country, but came to Britain as babies and lived here virtually all their lives. What does the BNP say about women born in the Republic of Ireland who have moved to Northern Ireland? Would they say that they, too, are part of the fifth column of foreign-born mothers in our midst? It seems unlikely.
On the BNP’s issue of the demands currently facing NHS maternity services, the number of births in England is indeed rising. The birth rate is, in fact, up by a fifth since 2001. And there were more births in England last year than since the early 1970s. However, to suggest that immigration is the main driver behind the strain on our maternity service is crude and naive.
Meanwhile, we have seen an almost 50 per cent rise in the fertility rate for women aged 40 or over. These women can place more demands on maternity services than younger women because their needs are more complex. Every year, the number of medical interventions and procedures increases and the number of babies delivered by caesarean section rises. Both these factors place extra demands on those providing maternity care. Government policy has also resulted in increased levels of choice for all women to exercise over their care. Inevitably, this also places more demands on maternity
services.
Above all, it is simplistic to say foreign-born mothers are putting pressure on maternity services. Rather, the situation is explained by the growing complexity of pregnant women with increased medical needs, both among the immigrant population and pregnant women in general, and the changing age profile of pregnant mothers, with a shift towards older mothers.
Thankfully, all mainstream political parties recognise this and there is cross-party support for more resources for maternity care in order to deliver a first-class service. This is the approach that responsible political parties should be taking rather than scapegoating foreign-born mothers for a failure to invest in more midwives and better facilities and choice for all women. l
Cathy Warwick is the general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives
