This petition was submitted during the 2019-2024 parliament
Rejected petition Allow COVID-19 negative birthing partner to attend labour without restrictions
Some hospitals in the U.K. are denying expectant mothers to have a birthing partner with them in some or all parts of the process, and this is done with poor justification.
The government should provide guidelines/directions so that a birthing partner is allowed unless COVID-19 positive.
More details
Mothers deserve the right to be accompanied and supported by the birthing partner along the whole process, and this is even more important if the birthing partner is the other parent as it would prevent them from bonding with the baby at that early stage.
The NHS should only put restrictions in place if the birthing partners are tested COVID-19 positive, otherwise they should be fully allowed without restrictions and following the same hygienic standards healthcare staff involved must follow.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.
Decisions about whether birth partners are permitted to attend a birth is a matter for individual hospitals and NHS trusts, and not the Government or House of Commons.
The NHS has published guidance on intrapartum maternity care which states that women should have access to one birth partner during labour, provided they are asymptomatic: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/04/C0241-specialty-guide-intrapartum-maternity-care-9-april-2020.pdf
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has also produced gudiance which states that women should be able to have a birth partner present during labour and birth: https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/guidelines/coronavirus-pregnancy/covid-19-virus-infection-and-pregnancy/#choices
It is an operational decision for individual hospitals and NHS trusts how to implement this guidance.
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.