BRUSSELS - A recent study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee provides valuable information on vulnerable social groups and their access to maternal health care services and midwifery in the EU. The study finds that many women in the EU face unequal and limited access to proper treatment and information about resources available, their entitlements and the relevant procedures to access them. According to the study, an estimated 500,000 women in the EU will go through their first months of pregnancy with no access to health services. Furthermore, the study finds that although a number of EU Member States have adopted good practice regarding migrant health care, practices to improve maternal care of other vulnerable groups are less visible.
Key recommendations from the study:
- Systemic policies and co-ordinated services are needed to promote the ideal of health as a human right universal and free at the point of use.
- Provision of SRH care services must be person-centred to mitigate exclusion of women in vulnerable social groups on the basis of biological, ethnic, socio-economic, cultural or other discriminatory factors.
- Investment in relevant resources and improved accessibility and availability of maternal health services are essential to address the needs of a diverse population.
- Policy innovations, behavioural economics and technological evolution create new circumstances and potential and raise expectations for high quality are provision. These can be harnessed to benefit maternal health and improve current and constantly deepening inequalities among women on the margins of society.
