National Maternity Hospital updates guidelines to allow “unrestricted” visits for partners of pregnant women

The updated guidelines come following criticism of various maternity hospitals over ongoing restrictions.

The National Maternity Hospital (NMH) at Holles Street in Dublin has said it will allow "unrestricted" visiting for partners of pregnant women following an updating of its visitor guidelines. Under the new guidelines, visiting for a partner or "support person" of a pregnant woman will be unrestricted for inpatient appointments between 8am and 9pm, as well for during labour once the woman giving birth has been admitted to a bed. There will also be unrestricted access for partners to attend the Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the Emergency Department and the 20-week anomaly scan. However, partners and support persons will not be permitted to attend appointments in the antenatal outpatients department on account of "Government guidelines on social distancing". That said, the hospital has said exceptions will be facilitated "on compassionate grounds and on an individual basis". Partner and support persons are asked to wear a face-covering at all times and maintain good hygiene standards while in the hospital. Children are currently not permitted to visit the hospital. "Our visiting guidelines are under constant review as we strive to do our very best to help protect women, babies and staff, while providing a safe environment in line with government guidance," the National Maternity Hospital said. The updated guidelines come following criticism of various maternity hospitals throughout Ireland over ongoing Covid-19 restrictions which have impacted partners and expectant mothers. https://twitter.com/_TheNMH/status/1425842542281564165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1425842542281564165%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joe.ie%2Fnews%2Fnational-maternity-hospital-updates-guidelines-allow-unrestricted-visits-partners-pregnant-women2-728507 For more information about the updated guidelines, visit the National Maternity Hospital's website here. Main image via Sam Boal/©RollingNews.ie