Pregnancy and labour
As a neonatal nurse and currently pregnant I am struggling to understand the reasoning behind not allowing partners in to important pregnancy scans and to support throughout labour.
This has recently changed for some areas however if we end up in further restrictions again I fear it will revert back to what it was previously. Previously no partners were allowed in for scans, they were not permitted to come in to maternity assessment, and only allowed in when partner was in fully established labour. Following the birth the partner is only allowed to stay for a short period before having to leave the hospital and only allowed 1 hour of visiting when partner and baby in the postnatal ward.
As a neonatal nurse we work closely with parents and their babies. I understand the danger of covid and the importance of protecting us (NHS staff) to allow us to continue to work and care for the public. Within the neonatal unit we work in small rooms with 3-4 babies each with up to 2 parents at bed spaces. All staff wear PPE and the parents are also asked to wash their hands regularly and wear appropriate PPE therefor I struggle to understand why this isn’t appropriate for the maternity wards also.
I completely agree with restricting visiting to maternity units however I don’t agree with such limited visiting for fathers/partners/a named person.
Partners/fathers have as much right to be part of the birth of their baby and involved in their care as much as the mother. I fear if this is not addressed and altered then there is a severe risk of poor mental health in not just mothers but their partners also.
My idea in summary is:
-to allow partners in for ALL pregnancy scans.
-to allow at least one partner/named person in for the whole of labour (including maternity assessment).
-to allow longer visiting for partners/a named person in postnatal ward.
This has recently changed for some areas however if we end up in further restrictions again I fear it will revert back to what it was previously. Previously no partners were allowed in for scans, they were not permitted to come in to maternity assessment, and only allowed in when partner was in fully established labour. Following the birth the partner is only allowed to stay for a short period before having to leave the hospital and only allowed 1 hour of visiting when partner and baby in the postnatal ward.
As a neonatal nurse we work closely with parents and their babies. I understand the danger of covid and the importance of protecting us (NHS staff) to allow us to continue to work and care for the public. Within the neonatal unit we work in small rooms with 3-4 babies each with up to 2 parents at bed spaces. All staff wear PPE and the parents are also asked to wash their hands regularly and wear appropriate PPE therefor I struggle to understand why this isn’t appropriate for the maternity wards also.
I completely agree with restricting visiting to maternity units however I don’t agree with such limited visiting for fathers/partners/a named person.
Partners/fathers have as much right to be part of the birth of their baby and involved in their care as much as the mother. I fear if this is not addressed and altered then there is a severe risk of poor mental health in not just mothers but their partners also.
My idea in summary is:
-to allow partners in for ALL pregnancy scans.
-to allow at least one partner/named person in for the whole of labour (including maternity assessment).
-to allow longer visiting for partners/a named person in postnatal ward.
Why the contribution is important
To protect the mental health of mothers and their partners. Fathers/partners have the right to bond with their baby too. Fathers/partners play an important role in supporting pregnant women throughout pregnancy/scans/labour and afterwards.
by zoezdanowicz1 on October 06, 2020 at 08:50AM
Posted by lkmully6816 October 06, 2020 at 21:11
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Posted by WeeJacquiD October 06, 2020 at 21:54
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