Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This woman went on to give a two-page testimony of giving birth, stillbirth, and all that went with it. It was heartbreaking. Another lady wrote how women and their partners are looking for a return to pre-pandemic levels of access through the pregnancy journey. She queried the distinction between full labour and active labour and stated that women in labour need support and advocacy whether they are 1 cm, 4 cm or 10 cm dilated. This is the whole point. I have spoken to officials in Galway on this point of how you define labour. Once a woman goes into a maternity hospital and presents to give birth, her partner should be there with them at all stages, as well as for 12-week and 20-week scans in particular. They do not know what news they are going to get. Where they get difficult news, they need to have their partner present, no ifs or buts.

I know that at times doctors can become immune to problems because they see so many of them, and I understand that, but women and their partners need to be together for these heartbreaking situations they have to go through where they receive bad news - and even where they do not receive bad news and the woman is just delivery a baby. Even the normal, successful delivery of a child is an emotional roller coaster for women and their partners, and the latter need to be present. We need to see that in place in all our maternity hospitals - no exceptions, no ifs and no buts. Whatever has to be done to ensure that this happens needs to be done. That is not a question; those are just comments based on testimony. There has been enough uncertainty. We have seen the roll-out of the vaccination programme. As I said, the women need to have their partners present and need the support and love of a partner, whatever about good news, certainly in the case of bad news.