An increasing number of Jewish women in the UK are turning to Jewish doulas to accompany them during childbirth, fearing discrimination or hostility from antisemitic medical staff in hospitals, according to a report by The Jewish Chronicle, reports Israel National News.
London-based doula Shoshana Maurer said that since the October 7 Hamas massacre, around a dozen Jewish mothers have hired her specifically because of concerns about antisemitism in the National Health Service (NHS).
“There is no question that nearly every Jewish client I’ve had since October 7 has had the same anxiety about antisemitism in hospitals,” she said. “They’re worried — are they going to be treated the same way as everyone else, or will they be treated badly?”
Several Jewish mothers who gave birth recently described feeling “nervous” about entering hospitals without Jewish support, citing social media posts by healthcare workers expressing anti-Israel or antisemitic sentiments. One woman said she switched to a Jewish doula after discovering anti-Israel messages shared by her original doula.
Although Jewish community groups emphasised that most hospitals remain safe for Jewish women, they acknowledged that fear within the community is real. A spokesperson for Shifrah UK, which supports Jewish women during pregnancy, said that only a “minimal number” of mothers felt it necessary to hire Jewish doulas — yet others admitted the trend reflected deeper anxieties about trust in the system.
Russell Langer, spokesman for the Jewish Leadership Council, warned that antisemitism within the NHS had become “out of control.”
“We have seen doctors describe hospitals as cesspits of ‘Jewish supremacy’ and praise Hamas as ‘legends,’” he said. “That some Jewish mothers-to-be feel anxious to give birth in NHS hospitals and are turning to private Jewish doulas to feel safe highlights the unacceptable reality that many Jewish patients feel unable to trust their healthcare providers.”
Following a recent terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, Health Minister Wes Streeting told The Times that the NHS was “completely failing to protect Jewish patients.” He added: “Two years on from the horrific events of October 7 and just days after a despicable attack on our nation’s Jewish community, we must be unequivocal that antisemitism has absolutely no place in our NHS, or anywhere in our society.”
The emergence of Jewish doulas as a protective measure against antisemitism has sparked debate within the UK’s Jewish community — a sign of the growing unease among British Jews who increasingly fear for their safety, dignity, and equal treatment in public institutions.
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