Parents across West Lothian have welcomed a total of nearly 400 babies since the beginning of lockdown in March.
Much of life may have ground to a halt since March 23, but the maternity unit at St John’s Hospital has remained busy – even if it does look a little different thanks to the pandemic.
New figures revealed that as of Tuesday, June 9, 379 babies were born at the hospital.
Health bosses said like other maternity units across Scotland, St John’s had implemented a number of changes to protect patients and staff.
These include the exclusion of visitors to the ward and there only being one birth partner allowed to be with a mum during labour.
Frances McGuire, chief midwife, NHS Lothian, said: “St John’s like all other maternity units in Scotland has implemented measures to reduce the risk of Covid-19 for our mums and babies.
“While it can be hard for new mums, most have understood why this is necessary and are enjoying this precious time to bond with their baby.
“The biggest change to maternity services during lockdown has been the application of national guidance which states that only one birth partner is allowed to be with a woman during labour and the birth of her baby and that no visitors are allowed before or after the baby is born.”
Frances repeated that parents should continue to follow the new guidance to protect them and staff members.
She continued: “We ask women to attend appointments on their own to reduce the footfall of people in hospital or health centres.
“We are trying to reduce the number of face-to-face visits before baby is born and there has been a slight reduction in the number of face-to-face postnatal visits with telephone calls and video calls to mums to provide additional support.
“However, at any time if a face-to-face visit is required, then it will be provided.”
