Nursery World - Coronavirus: All women now entitled to have a partner at birth

Pregnant women should be able to have someone with them for all their maternity appointments, scans and for the entire labour and birth, NHS health trusts in England have been told.

NHS guidance has been updated to enable partners to attend antenatal appointments and be present at their child's birth

Under the new NHS guidelines, all health trusts in England have been requested to review their current policies after pregnant women in some locations have had to attend scans and appointments on their own during the pandemic – with some not being able to have their birth partner with them through all stages of labour.

The support person, who does not need to be the co-parent, should be regarded as ‘an integral part of both the woman and baby's care’ - not just a visitor.

All trusts should now make it easy for this to happen, while keeping the risk of coronavirus transmission within NHS maternity services as low as possible.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included