Hundreds gather outside Dáil Éireann to call for an end to maternity restrictions

"This country has a long and checkered history with the mistreatment of women in our society."

Hundreds of people gathered outside Dáil Éireann on Wednesday to call on Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to honour his commitment to end partner restrictions in maternity care. Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, pregnant women have had to attend hospital appointments alone and, in many cases, give birth without a birthing partner present. The #BetterMaternityCare campaign, supported by Uplift, are demanding an end to these restrictions and the exclusion of partners. They say that any recent attempts to communicate with the Health Minister have gone unanswered. Addressing the crowd, campaigner Linda Kelly said: "We stand here in the rain demanding better maternity care today. The current HSE guidelines, dated 13 September, which continue to separate women from their nominated support partner in labour, is not maternity care. The guidelines which severely restrict visiting hours is not maternity care. And the guidelines which exclude partners totally from antenatal appointments is not maternity care." Linda went on to recount her birthing experience. "I gave birth to my second daughter in July 2020. My husband was in the operating theatre and shooed out 40 minutes afterwards as if he was some sort of inconvenience. He missed the entire first three days of our daughter's life and I was on my own in a hospital after major surgery with nobody to care for me who loved me. That is not maternity care." A long scroll was later unraveled by protesters containing hundreds of stories of different women's experiences of pregnancy and birth under the restrictions. Many people, including pregnant women, new parents, and families came from all over the country to attend the demonstration. Irish actress Amy De Bhrún was among the new mothers who attended to have their voices heard. "Across Ireland, so many other women's needs for maternity care are not being met," she said in a heartfelt speech. "This country has a long and checkered history with the mistreatment of women in our society and it can be exhausting." https://twitter.com/Herdotie/status/1445726923137687553 Speaking to Her, Amy said: "I had a baby pre-pandemic and a baby in the pandemic two weeks ago. I became a bit enraged with the fact that as the world was opening up, and people were going away on holidays and getting to go to pubs and things like that, there was still no change in maternity restrictions. "For me personally, having been through it, it was two completely different experiences with my first and second child. Giving birth is one the most important jobs we can do, it's how we all get here. So I feel like I had to raise my voice, it's not something I'd normally do but it's important. "My message to [Stephen Donelly] is open up the door and talk to the campaigners. If you're interested in what women need and what restrictions need to change, talk to the people who are experiencing it on a daily basis. Hopefully we can make change happen. It's the last restriction that needs to lift and we really need to lift it at this stage because it's ridiculous."