Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure that soon to be mothers are not (a) attending appointments and (b) going through labour alone as covid-19 restrictions ease.

NHS England and NHS Improvement published refreshed guidance on visiting restrictions for maternity services on 15 April 2021. The guidance sets out that all trusts should facilitate access to support for pregnant women as soon as possible by undertaking risk assessments, configuring the space used in providing care alongside infection prevention and control measures and using available testing capacity.

Guidance produced by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is clear that women should be encouraged to have a single birth partner, who has no symptoms of COVID-19, present with them during any type of labour and birth, unless the birth occurs under general anaesthetic. If the birth partner has symptoms, an alternative, birth partner can attend in their place.