FOI220085: Partners attending births and antenatal appointments

Released 18 May 2022

Request:

1. Does the Trust allow pregnant women to have a partner present at antenatal appointments?
2. Does the Trust allow pregnant women to have a partner present at scans?
3. Does the Trust allow pregnant women to have a birthing partner present during labour? If so, at what point and how many?
4. Does the Trust allow pregnant women to have a birthing partner present during birth? If so, at what point and how many?
5. Has the Covid Pandemic resulted in the Trust having to reduce the number of partners present at appointments, scans, labour or birth in the last two years? If so, has this yet returned to pre-pandemic procedure?

Information disclosed:    

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes, two from the point at which a patient is admitted.
4. Yes, same as question 3 above.
5. In the early stages of the pandemic, partners were not permitted to attend scans or ante-natal appointments with the patient.  During the pandemic the Trust reduced the number of permitted birth partners to one per patient.  The Trust has now reverted to pre-pandemic protocols, as detailed above.