Thank you for contacting me about maternity care during the Covid-19 outbreak.
During this pandemic, pregnant women have had to deal with the often-daunting prospect of attending a scan or even giving birth unaccompanied. Partners – advocates for the woman and unborn child - feel at times they have needlessly been left out.
During this crisis, everyone recognises that the first priority has been maintaining core maternity services, and I commend midwifes and doctors for keeping maternity services going. Families also accept that in these exceptional times some sacrifices may be unavoidable. I have welcomed steps to enable partners to once again routinely be present for every stage of labour and the birth, as well as other maternity appointments. With coronavirus cases increasing across the country, it may be that some hospitals have chosen to be more restrictive in their visitor protocols. However, I strongly urge maternity teams to work with pregnant women to ensure that they have all the support that they need throughout their pregnancy, and to facilitate attendance from partners wherever possible.
It is devastating to hear reports of mothers experiencing miscarriages or difficult early stage labour without birth partners, and I hope that hospitals listen to the Prime Minister who said that it is of “upmost importance” that every hospital allows partners to be present in such significant moments.
I am reassured by the announcement of a steady but massive expansion of quick turnaround tests, which can be used to help women to have their partners with them in labour wards. I look forward to seeing these tests help to ensure women can access the support they need and will continue to closely monitor this matter.
