Jewish women are hiring doulas to protect them and their babies from NHS antisemitism, the Jewish Chronicle reported earlier this month.

London-based doula Shoshana Maurer said that since the October 7 massacre, at least 11 Jewish women hired her due to concerns of NHS antisemitism, and numerous other women she spoke to voiced the same concerns.

“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?”

The report quoted several Jewish mothers who said they feared entering hospitals without Jewish support due to reports of healthcare workers’ antisemitism. One woman said she switched to a Jewish doula after discovering that her original one posted anti-Israel messages on social media.

Jewish Leadership Council spokesperson Russell Langer warned that antisemitism within the NHS has spun “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 the terror attack in a Manchester shul 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.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)