NEW MUMS FEEL ‘ANXIOUS AND ALONE’
PARENTS PLEAD FOR CHANGES TO ‘CRUEL AND UNFAIR’ COVID MATERNITY RULES
MUMS in Hull have spoken about the trauma of being separated from their partners because of “draconian” restrictions at Hull’s Women and Children’s Hospital.
Expectant mums have had to go through childbirth alone, face potentially life-changing baby scans without support and fend for themselves after traumatic births because of the rules stopping partners being by their sides.
They shared their traumatic horror stories with the Mail, as they urge Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to relax the strict Covid-19 rules still in place in the city, as other trusts across the country have begun to do.
The trust says the tight restrictions have remained in place throughout the pandemic to keep everyone safe. But new parents say it’s “grossly unfair” to drive past a pub full of people, on their way to an important appointment they have been told they can only attend alone.
And a dad affected by the enforcement described the rules as “cruel and unfair” on women and their partners.
‘I gave birth on my own’
Gem Walker, 35, was forced to give birth on her own after her placenta unexpectedly ruptured after she was induced.
Her partner was robbed of seeing their son Finley born, because rules prevent fathers being with mums-to-be on the antenatal ward, and he had been sent home until she was admitted to the labour ward.
Within 70 minutes of being induced, Finely had arrived, with no time to inform her partner and ask him to come back.
She said: “I had to go in on my own to be induced due to my other half not being able to come in with me until I was in labour.
“I arrived at hospital to be induced at 10.45am.
Everything went a bit wrong, I had a ruptured placenta and massive bleed while trying to be induced.
“I had to have an emergency C-section all on my own and Finley was born at 11.58am.
“I had no way of phoning him to let him know what happened as it all happened so fast. It was a scary situation to be in, with no one there to support me. My baby was born before my other half had time to get back to hospital.
“All staff in theatre were fab with me, but having my other half there with me would have made the whole situation a lot less scary.
“It was a total nightmare, I was wide awake but didn’t really understand what was going on until I was in the wheelchair getting rushed to theatre.
“I understand how wrong things went, he had to be born quickly but I feel like I missed out giving birth to him and for my partner to cut Finley’s cord.”
Pressure has now began mounting on the trust to relax the rules, after NHS England lifted the national suspension on visiting and provided a framework to assist NHS trusts to reintroduce access for partners in maternity services.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said partners should be present
“throughout each stage of pregnancy”, however it has been left up to hospital trusts to make their own decisions.
In Hull, birth partners can now attend the 20-week scan, and after the birth can book a one-hour slot to see their baby, but parents have said it’s “too little, too late.”
Women still have to attend all other scans on their own, and cannot have their birth partner join them until they are admitted onto the labour ward.
This is despite the city being placed in medium tier – the lowest in the Government’s new lockdown system, which means up to six friends can meet in the pub, but fathers still can’t attend a 12-week scan of their own baby.
Other mums have told how they’ve faced extensive testing while pregnant for life-changing conditions, and had to do it all without the support of their partner.
‘I had to go through all the tests on my own’
Lucinda Mcdonald, 30, was given the devastating news her baby could possibly have Digeorge syndrome, without her husband by her side.
She faced five scans and four consultant appointments alone, and her husband only just made it in time for the birth.
She said: “It [the pregnancy journey] was all horrible. I had to go in on my own and ended up having an emergency C-section and my husband only just made it.
“It was hard because both my other babies were NICU babies, I was so scared this time around and could have done with him being with me at all the extra scans and consultant appointments.
“Every time I went I was upset and heartbroken as they were trying to say I could do it naturally when I knew I couldn’t.
“I was trying to tell them and just think if he was there they would have listened more, especially when they thought he had Digeorge syndrome, I had to got through all the tests on my own, worried and scared.”
Left to ‘fend for themselves’
Other women have told how they were “left to fend for themselves” on the postnatal ward after the birth, with one Hull mum saying she eventually came home early because there was no help available for her and her baby.
She said: “I had to have an emergency C-section after having to be induced on the drip and being in labour for 35 hours.
“My partner was with me when I went up to labour ward, but as soon as we went down to Rowan ward after the section he was told to go home.
“I couldn’t get up myself and couldn’t lift my baby myself but was pretty much left. My midwife on the ward was nice, but it’s not the support you would have if your partner was there and what I needed with not being able to move.
“I lost my patience and demanded to come home after I had asked a room full of nurses and midwives to keep an eye on my baby for two minutes while I hobbled to the toilet and when I came back he was screaming and had got that upset he had been sick and was laid in it, with no one around keeping an eye on him like they said they would.”
‘Mum’s are anxious about it all’
Helen Farmer, who gave birth to baby Matilda in March, runs the Hull and East Riding Covid-19 Pregnancy Community Chat group on Facebook and says she is often called on to support women who have anxiety over the rules.
She said: “I’ve seen a lot of mums upset and anxious about it all.
“They are upset partners can now attend the 20-week scan only, so any scans after that they can’t, so anyone past 20 weeks the dads have totally missed out.
“I do think women need support going through pregnancy, the fathers should be there for appointments and labour, it’s their baby too.
“It’s also very important women have someone to advocate their wishes for them, as especially in labour it is hard to do that for yourself when tired, drugged up and exhausted.
“Pubs aren’t vital to society, alcohol serves no important service. The damage to mental health for pregnant women is terrible.
“They do use the safe space in the group to talk about issues and the effect of the restrictions. So I’m glad I could provide that for them.
“One mum wanted to start a protest outside the hospital for dads to be allowed in, there was a poll but the majority felt it wasn’t safe to gather to have their voice heard.”
A petition calling for the rules to be loosened has received more than 440,000 signatures.
There’s also fears the trauma women are facing alone will lead to a huge rise in postnatal depression.
A spokeswoman for Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says it is committed to keeping the situation under review.
She said: “We are working within the parameters of our own hospital estate and the need to keep people safe.
“All hospitals are different, their estate is different, and so what some are easily able to accommodate in respect of social distancing and protective measures, others are not.
“The NHS England guidance provides a framework, not legislation, and states up front priority must be the safety of all service users, including pregnant women, staff and visitors. Please tailor your policies to your local situation.
“We acknowledge this is a very difficult time for parents-to-be, but decisions are only being made after thorough review and in the interests of the majority.
“We have had no specific Covid issues/outbreaks within the hospital, so to date, what we have in place has been effective in keeping people safe.
“The rules have been relaxed several times since the height of the outbreak – last month in respect of antenatal and postnatal access/ visiting, and again last week in respect of 20-week scans.
“The team has committed to keeping partners’ access under constant review and this is still the case, but we have to balance this with the rising number of Covid infections in the community.”