Partners allowed for entirety of labour/birth in ALL hospitals.

Partners allowed for entirety of labour/birth in ALL hospitals.

Started
15 June 2020
Petition to
Matt Hancock (Health Minister) and 2 others
Signatures: 680,212Next Goal: 1,000,000
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Why this petition matters

Started by Holly Avis

I want to change the restrictions on partners being allowed in early labour/birth and after birth in maternity wards and hospitals around the country, to allow your chosen birth partner to be with you from the very start of labour to the very moment you are allowed to go home and also for scans and appointments. 

Right now the rules state that women do not have to labour alone but partners are only allowed to be with the mother when she is 4cm dilated or more. They are not allowed in for the start of an induction. They are not allowed in for the pre operation preparation for a Caesarean section.

They are not allowed to come onto the ward with mum and baby after birth, they must leave shortly after birth, irrelevant of mothers emotional, mental or physical needs. 

This includes visits back to the hospital in the coming days should she need to stay in longer. Visits are not permitted. 

Should you live a bit of a distance from the hospital there is a big risk your partner would miss the birth, as we all know labour is totally unpredictable and it could go from 4cm to baby is coming in a very short time. Not to mention if something went wrong, mum comes into trouble or has complications. 

Not having the partner there from the START puts her at risk of being alone in a horrendous situation.

Many stories are coming to light that partners ARE missing births as adequate time is not being given to allow the partner to be there on time. If partners were allowed from the start, it simply wouldn’t happen.

What is also so entirely frustrating is that these rules are NOT consistent around the country. It is also irrelevant of Covid testing results. 

Some hospitals allow partners for the whole birth, for scans and appointments and it’s just not right. 

With so many unnecessary and non essential shops opening up this week, with hairdressers, pubs and other social venues opening imminently, how on earth is it justifiable to keep partners from labour, appointments and births and to risk mental health issues such as post natal depression at the very least to both mum and partner.

Simply, its not. 

We mothers NEED OUR PARTNERS WITH US. With the correct PPE there is no reason why this isn’t possible now.

Also I am not saying we should open the wards to all and sundry with visitors and coming in and out, but I don’t see why if your partner is allowed to be with you for part of the birth, they can not be present for all.

We need these restrictions to change. It’s absolutely ludicrous to have shops open, to allow socialising in bubbles of 6 people that do not live together, but keep this rule in place, especially when it’s a total postcode lottery as to what rule is in place for you.

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Signatures: 680,212Next Goal: 1,000,000
Support now
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