Pregancy and Covid: The loneliness of the labour ward

The exclusion of partners and families from maternity services during the pandemic has led to increasing distress for pregnant women. Will the government’s new roadmap, to be announced this week, finally address their concerns?

Kayleigh Browne, from Lucan in Co Dublin, who gave birth to baby Rubí earlier this month, said visitation and partner support is still a ‘postcode lottery’ with some hospitals more relaxed than others

Ireland’s path to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions has been a bumpy one. But it is a bump of a different kind leading the debate for a cohort of people across Ireland – that of the perils of a pregnancy in a pandemic.

When Ireland’s new roadmap is announced this week, new and expectant parents will be listening carefully to hear if maternity services will finally address the exclusion of partners during the labour process.