Feminist Caroline Criado-Perez calls for end to NHS maternity partner ban after having miscarriage alone

Current ban is ‘traumatising an already traumatised woman’

The feminist writer and campaigner said she felt ‘humiliated and alone' (Nils Jorgensen/Rex Features)

Feminist campaigner and writer Caroline Criado-Perez has described feeling “humiliated and alone” after she was forced to deal with a miscarriage without the support of her partner.

The author of Invisible Women has called on all NHS Trusts to allow partners to attend medical appointments, scans and emergencies across maternity services, stating that the current block on doing so was “traumatising an already traumatised woman”.

“It needs to stop now,” she said.

At the beginning of the pandemic, most NHS Trusts prohibited partners from accompanying pregnant women to routine 12 and 20-week maternity appointments, as well as for much of the birth – only being allowed in during active birth.  

This was in a bid to minimise the spread of the virus.

Although this was gradually lifted across some trusts, and in September NHS England issued advice allowing partners to return, data revealed that three-quarters of NHS trusts were still not allowing birth partners to support women throughout their whole labour and all appointments.

Then, after a relaxation of the rules in some postcodes, the second lockdown meant many places that had eased restrictions reversed the decision.

In her newsletter on Wednesday, Criado-Perez wrote about driving to the maternity unit “inevitably full of women with babies and round babies while my belly was dripping into my pants”, an experience she described as “humiliating”.

“I didn’t expect to have to walk in completely alone, because my partner was not allowed to come in with me – yes, even if you’re bleeding copious red blood and passing clots,” she wrote.

“Try not feeling humiliated bleeding with your pants off in front of strangers while being told that your body has failed in one of its most basic functions, and there is no one in the room to turn to,” she wrote.

“I keep replaying the moment in my mind. I’ve never felt more vulnerable, I’ve never felt more utterly alone.”

One in four pregnancies in the UK ends in miscarriage, according to the Miscarriage Association.

A survey conducted in November by the campaigning group Pregnant Then Screwed (PTS) revealed that 82 per cent of respondents said their local hospital had restrictions in place for labour and scans, with 90 per cent of those polled admitting this was having a detrimental effect on their mental health.

“How a society protects and supports pregnant women is not only a measure of our humanity, but it is also critical to a well-functioning society, said Joeli Brearley, founder of PTS.

The Independent has approached the NHS for comment.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands on 0808 164 3332 or email helpline@sands.org.uk. The helpline is open from 9.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday, and until 9.30pm on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

You can contact the Miscarriage Association helpline on 01924 200799 or email the charity at info@miscarriageassociation.org.uk. The helpline is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday.

You can also find bereavement support at The Lullaby Trust by calling 0808 802 6868 or emailing support@lullabytrust.org.uk.

To contact Petals to enquire about the charity’s counselling services, you can call 0300 688 0068 or email counselling@petalscharity.org.