Of course not all men are (potential criminals) like that, @seline - but a post natal woman does not know anything about the partner of the woman in the next bed - he may be a perfect gentleman, caring for his partner whilst showing consideration towards the other women in the vicinity - but he may not - you can’t tell by looking - and a tired, sore, emotional, hormonal post natal woman deserves to be able to recover without having to worry about the motives/behaviour of strange men.
And what about women who, for religious reasons, are not allowed to be in their nightwear in the company of men (other than their husband), or women who have been sexually assaulted in the past and are traumatised by the mere thought of having a strange man just inches away, with only a curtain to separate them from him? Their needs don’t matter?
As I said earlier, I trained as a nurse in the 80s and had my first ds in hospital in the 90s so I have experience of post natal care as a nurse and a patient, in the days before partners staying at the bedside overnight was even thought of - and I promise you that women were cared for properly and supported, by the staff.
”2) as a new first time mum, would I prefer my husband to care for a baby or someone on the ward? For an anxious women having their newborn taken from them when they can’t walk or see what’s going on could be traumatic. Did you see the chester midwife last year or was actively trying to kill babies? Imagine a women with anxiety handing her baby over.”
@Baby1onboard11 - it was not the norm, when I was working, to take the babies away from their mums overnight - but the staff did help the mums who needed help during the night. The days of all the babies being taken to the nursery overnight are long, long gone - even back in the 80s, it was the norm for babies to stay with their mums - but we were well epstaffed enough to care for the mums and babies overnight without having to rely on the help of the dads.