Lost Mothers Project, Theatre Performance
21 JULY 2025
Thanks to the generosity of donors, it has been possible to fund midwives and student midwives’ attendance at a performance of the Lost Mothers Project. The play explores issues around imprisonment, pregnancy and maternal separation.
Jillian Robertson, Community Midwife explained “I am the named midwife for HMP Askham Grange, an open prison located just outside of York. I am part of a working group of midwives collaborating with women in prisons across the UK. We meet monthly to share experiences and support each other.
“The group is led by Dr Laura Abbott, a midwife, and Associate Professor in Research at the University of Hertfordshire who also led a research project called ‘The Lost Mothers’ examining how decisions are made about separating imprisoned mothers from their newborn babies.
“Clean Break is a ground-breaking theatre company who have been using theatre to shed light on the realities of women with experience of the criminal justice system for over forty years.
“By bringing this play and the workshop that follows it to York, we hope that midwifery staff from York, midwifery students at the University of York will benefit from the topics discussed which include pregnancy in prison, experiences of women being separated from their babies, mother and baby units, health care provision and relationships with staff and health care workers.”
Jillian added “Over the past 18 months, we have had 12 women come through HMP Askham Grange and receive maternity care at York Hospital. These women’s pregnancies, due to being in prison, are automatically classed as elevated risk despite their previous medical and obstetric history. Due to this they are seen regularly in our antenatal clinic by our obstetricians and midwives.
“The aim of bringing this play to York gives a platform to explore issues around imprisonment, pregnancy and maternal separation and is an opportunity to reflect on and improve professional practice. It will provide a new way of thinking about complex issues and show how strategies can improve outcomes when working with adults in vulnerable circumstances.”
Jillian expressed her thanks to York & Scarborough Hospitals Charity for making this possible.
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