Image used for representative purpose. AFP
London: More than half of pregnant women in the country were denied their partner’s support during childbirth last year despite the withdrawal of pandemic-era Covid-19 restrictions, a UK-based care watchdog has found.
An annual report by Care Quality Commission (CQC) surveyed over 20,000 women who gave birth in February 2022 also points out a “concerning decline” in women’s experience of delivering their babies.
Less than 50 per cent of soon-to-be-moms in UK said that their partners or someone close to them was denied admission in the delivery rooms.
To give a context, when the Covid pandemic struck in UK, hospitals had restricted the entry of birthing partners from attending scans and appointments.
However, by December 2020, England’s National Health Survey put out a notice allowing at least one person to accompany a pregnant woman “all stages of their maternity journey”.
However, the CQC findings suggest otherwise.
Pregnant women felt neglected
A number of surveyed women also reported hospital negligence, saying that many didn’t always get the help they required during labour and birth while others said that they were not heard when they raised concerns, according to a report by The Telegraph.
Many also flagged concerns about the availability of staff, confidence and trust as well as kindness and understanding of staff.
In the past five years, the watchdog also noticed a decline in ratings that pregnant women gave to their maternity care.
A number of such women also said that they hadn’t been treated with dignity and respect and that the amount of information given to new mothers wasn’t enough.
‘Lockdown-era policies must end now’
The CEO of National Childbirth Trust, Angela McConville said it was “unacceptable” that women were denied the assistance of their partners during childbirth.
“Lockdown-era postnatal policies must end now. Trusts must immediately enable partners’ presence at in-hospital postnatal care so that mothers are never left without food and water, emotional support, access to a bathroom and help to lift and feed their baby,” she said.
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.