A new approach is needed if maternity hospitals are to deal with the growing number of pregnant asylum seekers arriving in Ireland, the Irish Refugee Council (IRC) said today.
Most of the women arrive seeking treatment without proper medical records or legal status, the IRC's chief executive Mr Peter O'Mahony told ireland.com.
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"Maternity hospitals have had to respond to a new reality with a number of births within asylum seekers and refugees community," he said. "They need new set of resources that appropriate to deal with this new reality."
Mr O'Mahony was speaking following the death of a Nigerian mother in childbirth in Dublin at the weekend. Her baby remains in critical condition at Holles Street maternity hospital where its mother suffered fatal post-natal complications.
The woman arrived in Dublin in January and had applied for asylum status. Due to language barriers and the lack of medical records, the hospital was unable to establish the woman’s full medical history.
Expressing the IRC's shock at the tragic death, Mr O’Mahony said the problem facing maternity hospitals was growing.
However, he said that, contrary to public opinion, the number of refugees who come to Ireland to give birth to their children and therefore gain residency does not represent the majority of asylum seekers arriving in the Republic.
Mr O’Mahony said maternity hospitals, refugee interest groups, and Government departments should work together to respond to the needs of pregnant immigrants seeking treatment in Ireland.
He said the lack of hospital resources, education, language barriers and cultural diversity are all issues that needed to be addressed.
On a Government level, he said Ireland should constantly be working with EU partners to ensure member states respond humanly to the problems facing people who are fleeing their home land and arriving in countries where they still do not feel safe. Instead he said they face huge problems when applying for asylum, working visas and residency.