Professor Martin Cormican:

The national guidance is that while there is control over visiting, people who have given birth should normally expect to have visits from a partner and pregnant people should expect to be accompanied during labour. People should be accompanied for the 20-week scan. The qualification put around that is that individual hospitals may have to exercise a degree of discretion following a documented risk assessment. For example, if there is a particular problem in a hospital at a particular time with an outbreak or some other problem, the hospital might have to deviate from national guidance. This guidance indicates that should be done after a detailed assessment of risks, for a defined period and with clear communication with everybody involved. The norm is that people can expect to be able to have somebody with them during labour and for the 20-week scan.