Unintended consequences of restricting father presence during maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic

Commentary on: Andrews K, Ayers S, Williams LR. The experience of fathers during the COVID-19 UK maternity care restrictions. Midwifery. 2022 Oct;113:103434. doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2022.103434. Epub 2022 Jul 16 Implications for practice and research Restriction of fathers from maternity care during the pandemic led to unintended negative consequences. Considering a birth partner to be an essential component of optimal maternity care should underpin future pandemic planning. Context With the aim to reduce transmission of COVID-19, severe restrictions were placed on family presence across most aspects of care delivery including end-of-life, long-term care, emergency, paediatric and perinatal care.1 The study by Andrews et al2 focuses on the experiences of fathers during COVID-19 restrictions in the UK. Given the significant effect of family restrictions instituted during pandemic and the paucity of evidence related to fathers, gaining an understanding of father’s experiences is of...
Source: Evidence-Based Nursing - Category: Nursing Authors: Tags: Women's Health and Midwifery, COVID-19 Commentary Source Type: research