Father who missed birth after security led him out
WHEN former nurse Lorrell Davis, 29, was taken by ambulance to hospital after going into labour at 34 weeks, her husband Patrick was asked to leave and was escorted off the premises by security.
As a result, he missed the birth of their daughter, Beau, at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, East London.
Ms Davis, who is a doula – a helper who gives non-medical support during childbirth – said: ‘The room was full of people in masks and I had no idea who was who. Everyone was there except the one person I needed. We are completely shaken up.
‘He missed out on one of those special moments you can never recreate. He feels guilty, wondering if he should have made more of a fuss.’
A spokesman for the local NHS Trust said its guidance met national recommendations.
Marketing manager Alex Hirst also fell foul of the rules. Even though she suffered complications during the birth of her first child, she was sent home alone by hospital staff as contractions began during her second delivery. Ms Hirst, 32, said rules restricting partners’ access to the labour ward put lives at risk after her daughter Juliet arrived dramatically in an A&E treatment bay.
Her first labour was extremely fast, she lost a lot of blood and did not shed the placenta. This was flagged up on her medical notes and she was advised in advance by her consultant to stay in hospital once her waters broke.
However, nurses at Darlington Memorial Hospital sent her home in the early hours, saying she would be safer there. Her husband Michael drove her straight back to the hospital and Ms Hirst gave birth before even making it to the labour ward. Michael said: ‘ The baby came within two minutes of our arrival. The doctor had his hands behind his back tying his apron.’
His wife, who gave birth in April, called the no-partner rules ‘appalling’, adding: ‘It’s just horrendous. Some people who get induced are there for days. And then there are first-time mums who don’t know what to expect.’ A spokesman for the local NHS Trust apologised that Ms Hirst ‘ didn’t have the experience during labour and delivery we would wish for her’, but said its restrictions followed current guidance.