Victory for the MoS as every hospital lets mothers give birth with their partners
EVERY hospital in England is finally allowing pregnant women to have their partners at their sides for support, in a resounding victory for The Mail on Sunday’s Lone Births campaign.
NHS England records reveal that all wards have now changed their policy, eight months after this newspaper first highlighted the plight of women being forced to give birth and attend traumatic scans alone.
This includes five wards that two weeks ago were still failing to comply with official guidance and not allowing partners to be present at all stages.
However, after The Mail on Sunday r eport, all five have changed their policies, NHS England sources said.
Last night Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: ‘The pandemic has undoubtedly been a difficult time for expecting and new parents, and The Mail on Sunday was right to shine a light on this important issue.
‘I’m pleased mothers can safely have a partner, relative, friend or someone close with them throughout their pregnancy, care and birth, providing vital support while keeping everyone safe.’
In December, hospital trusts were told to find ‘creative solutions’ to ensure women have support ‘at all stages’ of pregnancy and labour.
However, not all trusts immediately complied with the instruction, and campaigners accused them of dragging their feet. The second Covid wave then set back progress, and many hospitals reimposed draconian restrictions.
Last month, NHS England issued new guidance calling for ‘urgent action’ from remaining trusts to start allowing partners to attend at all stages of pregnancy.
Despite this, five wards did not fully comply. One woman, who had been told to attend a 12-week scan at Medway Maritime Hospital, Kent, alone, said the anxiety was ‘crippling’ her.
She said ahead of the appointment that she had suffered two previous miscarriages and spoke of how she had already been admitted to hospital with a ‘severe bleed’ during the current pregnancy.
Aft e r The Mail on Sunday reported her case, the hospital changed its approach and allowed her partner to accompany her – before adapting its wider policy.
The change comes as MPs said NHS reforms in the Queen’s Speech will give the Government new powers to prevent such a problem from going unfixed for so long ever again. Alicia Kearns, the campaigning Tory MP, spoke of the ‘scandal that women’s health is frankly second class’, before saying the ‘NHS White Paper in last week’s Queen’s Speech can change this’.
In an article for Mail Online she writes: ‘For months, this newspaper has given a voice to women who had to experience stillbirths alone, who were alone when they learned their child had died in the womb or faced a lifetime of complications, and who have laboured, or even given birth, alone.
‘Our campaign forced NHS trusts across the country to stop denying women t heir partners during scans, procedures and birth. Given the success of our world-leading vaccine programme, and as we beat this virus, we cannot allow NHS trusts to insist on blanket policies that stop mothers, children, cancer, stroke or any other patients benefiting from the vital support of a loved one.’
She said the new law will take the ‘ NHS bureaucracy to t ask on improving women’s health’.
Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, Chief Midwifery Officer for NHS England, said: ‘As the NHS has made repeatedly clear throughout the pandemic, hospitals must ensure that women are safely accompanied at every stage of their maternity journey, including for scans, wherever possible.
‘ All maternity units are now reporting that they are allowing partners or someone to support them for all scans, and with Government having now made testing capacity available and the next stage of restrictions being eased from tomorrow, there is currently no reason for women to be denied partners at every stage of their maternity care.’