Despite lockdown, and while other mainstream healthcare services have been suspended in the wake of Covid-19, lead midwife Hilary Alba and her team have continued to provide crucial care to some of society’s most vulnerable mothers-to-be.

The Special Needs in Pregnancy (SNIPS) service is the only one of its kind in Scotland, and was designed to work with Glasgow’s most vulnerable mothers including asylum seekers, trafficked women, and teenage girls.

Although based in the Princess Royal Hospital, the team is responsible for women across the whole of the city who have suffered terrible abuses or are facing extra challenges.

After adapting their working style as much as possible to reduce hospital footfall and comply with social distancing guidelines, these eight midwives must still make home visits to those who are struggling with issues such as severe mental health, drug abuse, gender violence and homelessness.

“We’re trying to reach out more by phone so that fewer visits are needed, but it’s difficult for us because our women are more complicated or vulnerable, and some of them don’t have access to the internet,” said Hilary, SNIPS lead midwife.

“Our women might need help with making up a bottle feed or require instruction about bed sharing and sleep safety,” she went on.

“It’s difficult to social distance when you’re doing a blood test on a baby, trying to check a mum’s wound, or helping a mum breastfeed. It’s very difficult not to be close to mum and baby under those circumstances.”

It began with a small clinic set up at the old Rotten Row Hospital by Mary Hepburn in 1990, dealing predominantly with women abusing drugs and living with HIV.

Since then, the women-led service has grown to encompass a far bigger remit.

“Hepburn’s priority was to make obstetric care much safer for women who abused heroin. There have always been huge pockets of deprivation in Glasgow, and she wanted to do something to make pregnancy safer for women who used drugs,” said Hilary.

“Now we’re dealing with everything from complex teenagers to substance abuse, very complex mental health issues, gender violence, human trafficking, domestic servitude and women with HIV.”

Socially-disadvantaged women local to Glasgow as well as those from countries including Somalia, Sudan and Syria are in the care of Hilary and her colleagues working tirelessly to deliver midwifery and maternity support.

But without the usual resources and support during the recent pandemic, Hilary’s team have been up against it to provide the same level of care.

With GPs around the country closed and social workers and interpreters working remotely, SNIPS must cope with fewer child protection case conferences and home visits whilst at the same time shouldering a heavier workload.

“Many of the women in our charge don’t speak English, but since the start of Covid-19 there have been no face-to-face interpreters available, so we can’t book them for home visits,” Hilary added.

“Everything has to be done over the phone or with Google Translate, and it’s all taking a lot longer.”

Hilary’s colleague Rhona Galanti, who has caseloads in Govan, Darnley and Pollok, said: “We’re looking after really vulnerable women from all walks of life who are very much forgotten about, and at times like this we can’t let that happen.

“These women are still going to experience domestic violence, these children are still going to be neglected – so we have a responsibility to do the job that we’re here for.”

Hilary, who was bestowed a Queen’s Nurse Award in 2017, is relieved they haven’t had the “tsunami of Covid” amongst immunosuppressed pregnant women they feared.

She added: “Our women have done very well, but without access to things like smartphones or computers it’s harder for them to get the same support that more connected middle class people do.”

Hilary’s proud mother Gillian Burt, from Whitecraigs, said: “I tell people my daughter’s a midwife, but she does so much more. It’s all the special needs and commitment that this team gives to all its women from complex needs teenagers to domestic abuse victims, homeless women or those in the criminal justice system. There are more of these vulnerable mothers than you might think in Glasgow. It can be grim, and none of it goes away just because of coronavirus. It’s very tiring and emotionally draining, but they’re doing an exceptionally valuable job.”

Malcolm Buchanan, chair Scotland Board, Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “Herald Heroes has provided a perfect opportunity to show our gratitude to those at the frontline, like Hilary and her team, who are doing so much during the current situation to allow the rest of us to live as normal a life as possible."