Pregnant women are now allowed their birth partner at scans, labour and the birth, following new NHS guidelines.
The news comes after strict rules were enforced during the pandemic, meaning that depending on which NHS trust a person was with, some mums-to-be had to attend ultrasound scans, consultant appointments and even labour on their own.
Now new guidance issued by the NHS says expectant mothers in England will be permitted to have one person with them ‘at all stages of her maternity journey’ and attend appointments as long as the support partner is not showing any Covid-19 symptoms.
The new guidance said, ‘Pregnant women value the support from a partner, relative, friend or other person through pregnancy and childbirth as it facilitates emotional wellbeing and is a key component of safe and personalised maternity care.”
“It is, therefore, our aim, further to a risk assessment, that a woman should have access to support from a person of her choosing at all stages of her maternity journey and that all trusts should facilitate this as quickly as possible.”
The review follows months of campaigning and petitions from numerous bodies and expectant mothers, including the #ButNotMaternity campagin. But Not Maternity is a collective of volunteer campaigners, aiming to ensure that maternity restrictions in the UK are evidence based and proportionate to the risk of birth trauma as well as Covid-19.
Tweeting about the decision, campaigning group Birthrights, said, “Delighted to see the revised guidance for visiting in maternity services, recognising that #partnersarenotvisitors, that they are a “key component of safe and personalised maternity care” who should be included throughout.”
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