"A Swarm of Migrants in our Maternity Clinics!": The Study of Stratified Reproduction Regime in the Case of Kyrgyz Migrants in Moscow

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to the study of stratified reproduction. This canbe understood as the differentiation of experience, valuation and rewarding ofreproductive labour due to the difference in the positions held and resourcesavailable. The research is focused on the trajectories of female migrants fromKyrgyzstan when interacting with the healthcare system in the cases of pregnancyand childbirth in Moscow in the context of changes of medical serviceaccess for foreign citizens from 2010 onwards. The article is based on theanalysis of legislative framework and interviews with migrants from Kyrgyzstanand experts. The author highlights the inconsistencies in changes to healthcareprovided to foreigners and funding of the medical institutions. The headsof the medical institutions turned out to be responsible not only for the provisionof health care to foreigners but also for the budgeting. However, the funding forhealthcare for foreigners was not always provided. As a result, the medical staffwere accused either of being inhumane (if they did not provide health care toforeigners) or wasting the budget of their medical institution (if they did provideit). Migrants, in turn, were accused of claiming for something they were noteligible to receive (healthcare). The research shows the heterogeneity of «migrants» with cancellation of the free access to medical care during pregnancyresulting in two trajectories. The first trajectory, typical for migrants with scarceresources who did not view healthcare during pregnancy as necessary, entailsminimal interaction with the healthcare system excluding the actual delivery ofthe child. The second path entails the use of the medical care both in Russia andKyrgyzstan. Due to the transnational character of Kyrgyz migration, migrantscombine the resources available to them when travelling between the two countries.In such a way, they are able to overcome the limitations of their status inRussia. These trajectories have similarities in their use of social capital duringpregnancy and childbirth. The results of the research contradict the image thathas been constructed by the Russian media on the nature of pregnant femalemigrants’ visits to obtain free medical care in Moscow’s maternity clinics.