Covid rights during labour

[Crazydoglady123]

So I just wondered what your rights would be on a few circumstances during labour with Covid so rife:

If you AND your babies dad had covid (or covid symptoms), would he be able to be with you at the birth? Surely if you're being isolated to a room/covid labour ward if your partner has it too, why would it matter?

If they said no, are you within your rights to refuse going in and birth at home?

Has anyone been in this situation?

No negative comments please.

I can't see them allowing it, you have to be there and he doesn't so its double the risk to the staff assisting your birth.

Well anyone can refuse to go in and Labour at home but you have to accept the risks that come with that. How competent is your partner at delivering babies? Shoulder dysplasia? Cord wrapped around baby? Massive bleed?

I'm not being negative, the choice to go in is yours but threatening then with "then I'll just stay home!" is risking you not them

Don't you understand that other staff will have to come into your room too?

Presumably he's also have to walk down corridors, close to other staff/patients/visitors and risks spreading covid to them.

But most of all, if he has covid, he should be isolating at home anyway, not going out for any reason.

A family member recently gave birth, both her and the dad were covid positive so another family member stepped in to be birth partner. It’s about reducing the risks, two covid positive people in a small place, with lots of HCP’s coming in and out is obviously higher risk for transmission than one covid positive person.

That's fair enough comments. I just wondered how the hospital would view it if the mother had covid anyway. Thank you.

Im going to sit on the fence a bit here as my trust had slightly different rules.

All partners have to do a lateral flow before coming to the hospital for scans and antenatal appointments, and if positive, theyre not allowed in. Pregnant women who are positive on the other hand in active labour will be isolated in a seperate room with staff who are fully PPE'd.

But, if your admitted as say an emergency and then asked to lateral flow at the hospital and your partner tests positive, they can stay for the birth and then must leave afterwards.

Its all a bit hazy to be fair. All the information should be on your trusts website though as they are updated constantly with the changing covid regulations.

Youre more than welcome to refuse to birth in hospital. But you wont be getting a midwife out to your house given the current staff shortages in the NHS.
Youre best off taking the NHS care offered, covid or not. Its just safer, coming from someone who birthed recently under emergency circumstances.