ABSTRACT
This chapter explores issues of psychosocial resilience and risk related to asylum seeking and refugee women during the perinatal period, drawing on experiences from three diverse European countries; the United Kingdom (UK), Malta and Netherlands. It examines terms asylum seekers and refugees to allow focusing on issues that pertain specifically to women experiencing this form of migration. The chapter suggests possible ways to address the challenges including how health professionals can actively build on the resilience of asylum seeking and refugee women to improve their perinatal experiences. It focuses on forced migration, in particular asylum seeking and refugee women using the terms as defined by United Nations (UN). The chapter discusses few key areas that can contribute to improving the quality of maternity care offered to asylum seeking and refugee women. It discusses role of specialist services, the promotion of resilience among asylum seeking and refugee women and need to support staff to allow them to provide optimal care.
