Don’t be scared to bother NHS, Duchess urges new parents
THE Duchess of Cambridge has paid a virtual visit to newborn babies via videolink, as she urges new parents to reach out and ask for help if they need it in lockdown.
The Duchess, who spent time with midwives last year as part of a learning exercise, cooed over 16-hour-old baby Max and congratulated his proud mother, who gave birth in hospital.
Asking how pregnant women and new parents are coping under Covid-19 rules, she urged them not to fear overburdening the NHS and ask for help when required.
In two engagements, both held via video, the Duchess heard how expectant mothers are feeling greater anxiety and nerves about going into hospital, as professionals emphasised that their services are stillavailable.
Addressing concerns that women may fear putting pressure on the NHS during the pandemic, Jennifer Tshibamba, a midwife at Kingston Hospital, told her: “We want women to know we’re still here, we’re still open.’’
The Duchess said parents “need to reach out to those who can support them, particularly those who can provide knowledgeable resources,” adding: “We’ve heard it from the frontline workers, for those who are struggling, they don’t feel they can reach out because they feel guilty for doing it, which is extraordinary to hear.
“With new mums and parents and families, they don’t want to feel like they’re overburdening but it is so important to reach out and ask for help when you do need it.”
As part of a virtual royal visit to talk to staff at Kingston Hospital’s Maternity Unit, where she spent two days on a work placement last November, the Duchess was introduced to new parents Rebecca and John Atwood via a laptop at their hospital bedside. “This is definitely a first, I think,” said the Duchess. “Huge congratulations. Is it a little boy or a little girl?”
“It’s a little boy,” Mrs Atwood told her, as she sat up in her hospital bed with her newborn son alongside her. Given a closer look at 16-hour-old Max, the Duchess said: “He is so sweet. When did you have him?”
Told he had arrived at 10pm the previous night, she replied: “My goodness, you must be exhausted.”
From her home in Norfolk, the Duchess watched as the birth centre’s lead midwife Sam Frewin appeared on camera in a mask and disposable apron to show her the PPE now used in maternity services. “Is this what it looks like, Sam?” she asked, saying she could still see her smiling “with your eyes”.
The Duchess asked after the wellbeing of midwives working with “extra pressures and worries”.
Ahead of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, the Duchess joined a roundtable meeting of experts about the impact of Covid-19.
Hearing their concerns that pregnant women do not “want to bother the NHS” during the pandemic, and feel isolated under lockdown, the Duchess spoke of the importance of new mothers speaking to each other.
“To be able to share in whatever way – whether on the phone, social media, in any form actually – it does provide that normality and normalising of some anxieties,” she said.