Partners are no longer allowed to attend 20-week pregnancy scans

It has been revealed that many maternity hospitals across the Republic of Ireland have made the difficult decision to no longer allow partners to attend 20-week pregnancy scans, due to the worsening pandemic and rising Covid-19 case figures.

The Rotunda hospital made the announcement on their social media account yesterday, writing, “Due to the surge in community acquired COVID-19 infections & the move to Level 5 restrictions, the EMT have taken the very difficult decision to change our visiting policy.”

They went on to explain that from today, January 5, “partners will no longer be able to attend for the routine 20-22 week anatomy scan.”

While many expectant mums had to go alone to their pregnancy appointments without their partners last year, due to Covid-19 maternity regulations which prohibited partners from attending these scans, the policy had been reviewed towards the end of 2020, with many hospitals easing their restrictions on maternity care.

However, now that the Republic of Ireland has returned to Level 5, many maternity hospitals across the country have had to revise their policy surrounding Covid-19 restrictions and maternity care, resulting in the Rotunda Hospital and the Coombe Hospital not allowing pregnant women to bring anyone with them to their pregnancy scans.

However, the National Maternity Hospital has stated that there are “currently no visitor restrictions in place,” regarding partners accompanying pregnant women to their 20 to 22 week anatomy scans. However, they also noted that this position may change.

Likewise if you are attending Cork University Maternity Hospital, you are allowed to bring one person with you to your 20-week scan, but this policy is also currently under review.