A hospital trust has blamed the age of its facilities for not easing birthing restrictions, following calls for relaxation by a maternity support group.

East Kent Hospitals Trust, which runs Ashford's William Harvey Hospital, Kent and Canterbury and the Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother in Thanet , has maintained strict rules on attending appointments alone.

Some other trusts nationwide, including the Royal Surrey Trust, are now allowing partners to ultrasound scans.

The East Kent Maternity Voices Partnership - along with expectant mums - have been appealing for an easing of this restriction, as well as other rules.

Jessica from Ashford is due to give birth this month but has been told she'll only be allowed one birthing partner, meaning she won't be able to have her mum with her.

However she noted: "I can cope with giving birth with just my partner - I’d wanted my mum there but there are bigger problems facing expectant mums.

"You have women going through the first stages of labour alone or having scans alone and being told they’ve lost their child - they have to go to the car park and tell their partner.

"Women have to make big decisions alone, and it’s affecting mental health massively."

"They push on you that the first few hours and days are crucial for bonding, but they aren’t letting the dads in.

"If you look at the number of pregnant women across the country, there’s a lot of partners missing out on so many important moments."

She has contacted the East Kent Hospitals University Trust, as has The Maternity Voices Partnership, but to no avail.

The 24-year-old said: "They’re just giving excuse after excuse as to why they aren't lifting restrictions - their latest one is because it’s an old hospital. How does that affect whether my partner can go in or not?"

"I can give birth in a pub with a hundred people there..."

Jessica pointed out: "I can give birth in a pub with a hundred people there, but in a hospital I’m only allowed one person.

"If you have an ‘at home’ birth, you have to sign a form saying only one person will be there. What do you do with the rest of the family living there then?"

The renewed questioning comes amid a nationwide social media campaign with the hashtag #butnotmaternity, hoping to ease restrictions in line with other sectors like hospitality.

Trusts were recently allowed by the NHS to amend restrictions, after initially enforcing set national guidelines during the pandemic's early spread.

However East Kent Hospitals Trust has widely maintained the NHS standards, aiming to keep staff, patients and visitors safe from the coronavirus.

The trust suffered a blow early on in the pandemic, when nurse and mum-of-three Aimee O'Rourke died at QEQM in April.

A spokeswoman noted that due to the facilities' age, the rooms were built too small to enable social distancing between too many people.

Furthermore they highlighted that the chosen birth partner is able to visit from 8am-8pm while the mother's in hospital, with the only restriction being that they can't stay overnight.

The spokesperson said: “We recognise how difficult this time is for women and their families and apologise for any distress caused to both mums-to-be and their birthing partners.

“However, the safety of mothers, babies, partners and our staff is our top priority, and the restrictions on visitors attending scans and antenatal checks unfortunately have to remain in place for the moment.

“We are reviewing these policies all the time regularly; in line with local, regional and national guidance, as well as how we can resume the service in our buildings whilst supporting social distancing and minimising the risk for everyone.

“We know this hasn’t been easy but want to thank everyone for respecting the visiting restrictions, this has enabled us to ensure patients are being treated in the safest environment possible.”

For all the latest East Kent Hospitals maternity guidelines, please visit the dedicated webpage .

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