Rocheva, A. (2014). 'A swarm of migrants in our maternity clinics!': the study of stratified reproduction regime in the case of Kyrgyz migrants in Moscow. The Journal of Social Policy Studies, 12(3), 367-380. [in Russian]

This article aims to contribute to the study of stratified reproduction. This can be understood as the differentiation of experience, valuation and rewarding of reproductive labour due to the difference in the positions held and resources available. The research is focused on the trajectories of female migrants from Kyrgyzstan when interacting with the healthcare system in the cases of pregnancy and childbirth in Moscow in the context of changes of medical service access for foreign citizens from 2010 onwards. The article is based on the analysis of legislative framework and interviews with migrants from Kyrgyzstan and experts. The author highlights the inconsistencies in changes to healthcare provided to foreigners and funding of the medical institutions. The heads of the medical institutions turned out to be responsible not only for the provision of health care to foreigners but also for the budgeting. However, the funding for healthcare for foreigners was not always provided. As a result, the medical staff were accused either of being inhumane (if they did not provide health care to foreigners) or wasting the budget of their medical institution (if they did provide it). Migrants, in turn, were accused of claiming for something they were not eligible to receive (healthcare). The research shows the heterogeneity of «migrants» with cancellation of the free access to medical care during pregnancy resulting in two trajectories. The first trajectory, typical for migrants with scarce resources who did not view healthcare during pregnancy as necessary, entails minimal interaction with the healthcare system excluding the actual delivery of the child. The second path entails the use of the medical care both in Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Due to the transnational character of Kyrgyz migration, migrants combine 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 in Russia. These trajectories have similarities in their use of social capital during pregnancy and childbirth. The results of the research contradict the image that has been constructed by the Russian media on the nature of pregnant female migrants’ visits to obtain free medical care in Moscow’s maternity clinics.