New dads can now stay overnight on maternity ward

What do you think of this new move?

Ipswich Hospital has revealed it will now finally let the partners of new mums stay overnight at the hospital after their baby is born.

The new policy has been introduced on all three of the hospital’s maternity wards – Orwell, Brook and Deben – which aims to help reduce any anxiety for new mums while giving partners the chance to bond with their new child.

Hundreds of parents across the county are pleased with this new move saying having the support of a partner will make the experience of child birth less stressful and frightening.

Last year, Healthwatch Suffolk launched a survey calling for mothers, fathers and birthing partners to have their say about how the maternity experience at Ipswich Hospital could be improved.

The results revealed that more than half of mums wanted their partner to stay overnight with them but couldn’t, and 44% of birthing partners would have liked to stay the night but were not given the option to.

As part of the new guidelines, partners at Ipswich are now welcome to stay throughout the admission, and will be offered a reclining chair, blanket and pillow to make them comfortable. With my daughter, I was induced and went into hospital early in the morning to get things started. I had a bed and my husband had a hard plastic chair for the duration of the time in hospital. I was in there over 24 hours and he looked so uncomfortable, this would have been fantastic if it had been in force back then.

Previously, the partner needed to leave at 9pm, which meant that anyone whose baby was born in the evening could only spend a short time with them before having to go home.

Sharon Edwards, lead midwife on the Orwell Ward, said: “We are really pleased that we are now able to welcome partners to stay overnight on our maternity wards as extra support can help women to feel relaxed during labour and throughout their hospital stay. Giving partners the chance to be by the bedside can also help them feel actively involved in the birth while encouraging them to bond with their baby in those all-important first few hours of life. We have already received some excellent feedback about the initiative, with people telling us that being given the opportunity to stay together has made a big difference at what is a special time for the whole family.”

I’d love to know what you think of this new move, get intouch and let me know.