Over 30,000 sign petition calling for end on ban at fathers attending birth of their babies
"The fact that he won't be there with me this time makes me so sad," says pregnant mother
Over 30,000 Uplift members have signed a petition to lift maternity restrictions on pregnancy care.
COVID-19 restrictions mean that many new parents have been completely separated, sometimes less than an hour after their baby is born. Even mothers facing miscarriages have been left, isolated from the people that love them the most.
Uplift member, Caroline Cummings who started the petition on MyUplift, says:“I am not suggesting large numbers of visitors be admitted to hospital wards. Nor am I wanting to put maternity hospital staff and patients under any greater risk."
She said: "I am pregnant with my third baby, and I find it very difficult to accept that my husband can eat in a restaurant, go on a flight, coach GAA and drop my children to school - but not come with me to my 20 week scan in a few weeks, or come with me if I were to be induced again."
Ms Cummings said: "I look back on the few days after the birth of both my babies in the hospital with my husband as some of the most magical and memorable days of my life, and the fact that he won't be there with me this time makes me so sad, and means I am not at all looking forward to the birth of this baby. In actual fact it would probably push me to sign a self discharge and go home.”
Uplift Director Siobhan O’Donoghue, says:“Having a baby is a journey filled with joy, worry and vulnerability. Without the people closest to us, who love us the most to hold our hand, facing it can seem like a terrifying, traumatising ordeal. While the Government is lifting restrictions across society, it seems new parents have been left behind. Hospitals should lift restrictions safely.”