Northern Ireland mums have called on MLAs to listen to their desperate pleas for Covid-19 restrictions on maternity services here to be relaxed, saying they are causing 'unnecessary stress and anxiety' to expectant mums.
The Mothers Matter #marchformaternity Campaign group is calling on MLAs to join in a live online discussion on Friday, October 23 at 1pm about the important issues facing maternity services during the pandemic.
Campaign organisers Claire Hackett, Emma Fraser and Leslie Altic say Covid-19 restrictions on partners’ attendance throughout pregnancy and birth have been causing unnecessary stress and anxiety.
“We’ve talked to too many families who have struggled with these restrictions. This includes women going alone to stressful antenatal appointments, partners having to leave within hours of their baby being born or meeting their newborn through a hospital window and women going through the early stages of labour or induction without the support of their birthing partner,” explained Leslie.
On Friday, they will call on the Department of Health to:
· To treat the pregnant person and their partner as a single unit that can attend antenatal appointments, labour, birth and postnatally
· To recognise that maternity services are different to other healthcare services, the physiological and mental health impact of restrictions should be recognised, as well as the subsequent costs to the NHS
·To address staffing issues, which will alleviate strains on staff and ensure women’s birth options are not limited
“The current rules force women to attend some appointments on their own and also mean that the birth partner can only come into the delivery suite once the woman is in labour. This is causing additional anxiety during an already stressful time,” added Claire.
All week, the campaign has been sharing stories on their Facebook page from women and their birth partners about the impact of the rules on new parents.
Emma added: “The physiological and mental health impact of restrictions, through increased rates of intervention, increased rates of perinatal mental health issues, and birth trauma can have a financial impact on our already stretched health services."
To watch the online discussion on Friday go to www.facebook.com/mothersmatterni/
