On 27 March 2025, Poland restricted the acceptance of applications for international protection at its border with Belarus. Pregnant women are among the few exceptions. According to the Polish Border Guard, applications were accepted from 47 pregnant women in the first year of the restrictions. Another 32 were accepted between late March and June 2026.

Over the same period, more pregnant migrant women in Belarus began contacting us. Many face several problems at once: they lack money, have no stable housing and struggle to get medical care. They fear detention, expulsion or separation from their child. We decided to bring this experience together and ask the women themselves what they need and how they make decisions.

How we conducted the research

Between March and September 2026, we surveyed 15 migrant women from African countries aged 21 to 30. At the time of the survey, 14 of them were pregnant and one had already given birth. We compared their accounts with the work of our public reception office in 2024–2025, with Polish and Belarusian legislation, and with responses from Belgosstrakh (the Belarusian state insurer) and other institutions. Most participants had contacted us for help, so the sample is not representative.

What we found

• Medical care remains fragmented. Of the 13 women who answered the question about insurance, nine said they had none or that it had expired. Mandatory insurance for foreign nationals covers emergency care and childbirth. Routine pregnancy care (registration with a clinic, ultrasound scans, tests) has to be paid for out of pocket. Women told us they could not buy prescribed medicines or left hospital when asked to pay.
• There is no safe housing. Participants slept on the street and in train stations, or stayed with acquaintances and became dependent on them. Belarus has two centres for people seeking international protection, with no more than 56 places in total. The Minsk centre for people without a fixed place of residence does not provide services to foreign nationals.
• Students risk losing everything at once. Study, dormitory housing and migration status are closely linked. When financial support stops, all three are put at risk together. Educational institutions are required to notify the migration authorities within five working days when a foreign student is expelled.
• Fear keeps women from seeking protection. Those who reported experiencing violence did not go to the police because they feared document checks, detention and expulsion.
• The crisis does not end with childbirth. One participant was forcibly removed from Belarus while her child remained in the country. Stories like this make other women more afraid of giving birth in Belarus.

In 2024, we received 50 requests for advice on obtaining protection in Belarus and 24 on obtaining protection in Poland. In 2025, these figures were 11 and 262 respectively.

Pregnancy and migration plans

The surveys gave no grounds to claim that women planned their pregnancies to gain access to the protection procedure in Poland. One participant explicitly described her pregnancy as unplanned. The exception allows women to submit an application, but it guarantees neither protection nor a safe route to the border. Crossing points cannot be passed on foot, and bus companies refuse to carry passengers without a visa.

Recommendations

We address our recommendations to humanitarian and human rights organisations, medical institutions, educational institutions, the authorities of Belarus and Poland, and international organisations and donors. They include:

• providing long-term support instead of one-off assistance;
• using alternatives to detention for pregnant women and families with children;
• not using the threat of separation from a child to pressure women into leaving;
• ensuring access to protection regardless of the route of arrival or migration status.