More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
A mum from Kent is calling on Boris Johnson to take action following repeated calls to help parents who have been robbed of maternity and adoption leave by the coronavirus outbreak.
Bethany Power, 29, from Higham, gave birth to son Jayden last November but says she and many other parents have been left isolated and without support because the usual post-natal services have been shut during the pandemic.
Back in March she launched a change.org petition calling for extended maternity and adoption leave that now has over 34,000 signatures, while a subsequent UK parliament petition calling for the same has been signed by more than 233,000 supporters.
But Bethany says there has been no sign of real action so far and is urging the government to confront the issue.
"They've both been submitted but we're still waiting for them to answer," she said. "Boris has promised twice he would look at it."
The campaigners are asking the government for three months extra maternity and adoption leave for those that have had their maternity leave affected by the pandemic.
Bethany, a sports rehabilitation specialist, said many of those affected were being forced to go on unpaid leave.
"We feel robbed of our maternity," she added. "We've just been totally forgotten by the government - totally excluded.
"The financial burden on families has become more of an issue. We're just asking for another three months maternity to replace the months we've missed and the support that we would normally have got.
"We've had no access to health visitors, we've not been able to go to clinics to get our babies weighed or have check-ups.
"We haven't been able to speak to mental health experts or be assessed for mental health support health visitors.
"It's been incredibly hard to be completely isolated, alone dealing with a newborn baby.
"We are working tax payers, we've planned for maternity and we only have limited time.
"We've had all support taken away and it needs to be addressed.
"With our tax we've prepaid our maternity leave, and now we can't find child care because of Covid-19 - the nursery I was appointed to is not being built now.
"You're unable to prepare or introduce your baby to the world or get the support you need."
The Petitions Committee’s full report has been sent to the Government for a response, and the report is available to read here.
