[VIC] Pregnancy and Delivery during COVID

popcornready on 24/07/2020 - 07:47
Last edited 24/07/2020 - 18:23 by 1 other user

Hi all,

Yesterday the government advised that new rules would be introduced where fathers would not be allowed to stay in the hospital longer than 2 hours post birth, per day.

I don’t believe much more information was provided. I imagine they were just slowly drip feeding this to the public.

I am curious as how this would work? They set a timer for 2 hours every day?

Is this public and private?

I know that private hospitals have currently enforced the “once you are in the hospital (father), then you cannot leave and comeback”. This makes more sense, but I imagine it’s harder in a public setting where there are no private rooms and no overnight visitors allowed.

Health & Beauty COVID-19

Comments

  • alo1234 on 24/07/2020 - 11:59

    News update at 11:55 AM:

    • After delivery of the baby, the support person/partner can stay for as long as they would like providing they don't leave the hospital. But I guess it's still subject to the hospital visit hours too.
    • Subsequent day: one person can visit max two hours.
    • popcornready on 24/07/2020 - 13:07
      -2

      I am lucky I can afford private. Thereby, I won’t have to leave my wife once there for the 3-4 days we stay.

      Unfortunate for people in public. Partners can’t stay overnight anyway, so they will always have to leave (pandemic or not), so now they are limited to two hours. That sucks

      • Steinhardt on 24/07/2020 - 16:11
        +1

        You can stay overnight, you just cannot sleep on the floor.

        Source: Wife had a baby in a public hospital in April during the first wave of cases.

        • popcornready on 24/07/2020 - 17:27
          -1

          Really?
          I had friends who had their baby just pre-Covid and they were not allowed to stay overnight at all.

          But I am assuming sitting in a chair all night isn’t the best

          • lgacb08 on 27/07/2020 - 14:00

            @popcornready: You can stay overnight if the lady is lucky to get her own room in public hospital, but this comes down to luck.

      • jjjaar on 25/07/2020 - 07:37
        +1

        I am lucky I can afford private. Thereby, I won’t have to leave my wife once there for the 3-4 days we stay.

        My last friend that gave birth in public (pre-covid) was admitted around 8pm on a Saturday, gave birth about 12:30am on Sunday and was out by 6pm on Sunday.

        If it’s not a caesar, you’re really not there that long.

        • corollachick on 25/07/2020 - 09:16

          not always. no caesar for kid 3 and had to stay 5 nights

      • Blitz001 on 25/07/2020 - 23:53
        -2

        You realise the restriction is for everyone’s protection, not just to screw you and your wife over.

        • popcornready on 26/07/2020 - 08:41

          I never said that it was trying to screw me or anyone over. Calm down. I was actually wanting to be sympathetic to new mothers.

      • raptormesh on 26/07/2020 - 01:30

        Stayed overnight for a week, sharing the bed in a private room. Public, no problems. Even had a water birth with two midwives attending our 22hour labor. No complaints whatsoever.

        Private is just trying to scare people into paying up. We paid $0.

        • popcornready on 26/07/2020 - 08:42

          This isn’t about private vs public

          Plus private isn’t about scaring people into paying. If you like what private affords you and are happy to pay, then all the power to you. If you don’t, then all the power to you as well

  • dust on 24/07/2020 - 07:50
    +1

    imagine it’s harder in a public setting where there are no private rooms

    There are private rooms in public hospitals too.

    And I don't think they will set a timer as such but of course the time of birth is recorded so two hours later a nurse will come in and tell the partner/support person to leave.

  • PissLUR on 24/07/2020 - 07:57
    +4

    Which government? Federal? State?

  • Archi on 24/07/2020 - 08:51
    +1

    maybe you should call the hospital

  • jjjaar on 24/07/2020 - 09:02
    +1

    …where fathers would not be allowed…

    Or support people. Not every birth involves a father.

    (Just providing clarity on that point)

  • morse on 24/07/2020 - 09:43
    +1

    Whilst I completely understand the need to stop the spread of COVID I personally would find it very difficult not having my partner there. Bonding with both parents is beneficial to both the parents and the baby. The support for the new mum is so important too. I had my husband with me for 5days after in hospital and hotel (private) and would have found it very hard without, although with COVID I would imagine a shorter stay would make more sense if medically okay. I do find this rule hard to understand given other relative freedoms. There’s even been bubs born to mums with COVID in Australian hospitals (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8194239/Two-coronav…), so I’d like to hope there could be work around to support families with new babies, whilst preventing he spread of COVID.

    • GG57 on 24/07/2020 - 10:38

      I don't see how a birth could not happen just because the mother has COVID.
      There are births every day by mothers with various dependencies or medical issues. Hospitals and the staff cope.

      My maternity nurse friend tells me the hardest bit about births is managing the other non-medical people that are there.

      • morse on 24/07/2020 - 15:45

        Yeah - agree, that's why I think that there would be ways to have support people and partners there for birthing mothers even with the risk of COVID.

        • GG57 on 24/07/2020 - 15:57
          +1

          Perhaps because COVID is much more infectious than other medical issues?
          Partners or support people are allowed to be there for the birth.

          • morse on 24/07/2020 - 16:19

            @GG57: yeah it is a tough one - but realistically once the family is discharged the partner/support people will be around the mother and baby anyway. I'm not quite sure who they are trying to protect by not letting the partner be there for support beyond the birth and first couple of hours (if that's what's happening). If it's the health workers,I wonder if there are other ways to protect them, like physical distancing in the room, masks and hand hygiene. I don't have the answers, but do really feel for people having babies at this time. I guess not everyone feels they need support beyond two hours post birth - but I suspect most would.

            • GG57 on 24/07/2020 - 16:26
              +1

              @morse: Surely it is aimed at protecting the hospital staff and other patients, and other visitors.
              Maternity staff are already under additional pressure, dealing with their usual duties and the increased hygiene requirements from COVID. They don't need a lot of unnecessary people in the wards as well.
              The maternity staff are there to provide mothers with support outside of the two hours limit, as they always are.

              Humans have been doing this birth thing for a long time. Our maternity hospitals are amongst the best in the world.
              I'm sure it is stressful for mothers, but I'm also sure they can get by without the non-required visitors.

              • morse on 24/07/2020 - 16:36

                @GG57: I'm seeing both sides. I agree that the hospital staff and other patient should be protected. The midwives are available for support and do a great job, but they are not super available i.e. often helping lots of mums at the same time. I definitely don't think there should be visitors like friends and grandparents etc. I'm just meaning one person, usually the father or mothers partner. Doesn't a father have a right to be with their newborn for the first 12hrs-24hrs of their life? Tbh, I know some public hospitals actually don't allow the father to stay overnight even pre-COVID and I always found that to be strange. I'm feeling grateful that our baby arrived 5 months before COVID restrictions started.

    • Sensiekatie on 25/07/2020 - 11:07
      +1

      What that article doesn't tell you is that the Gold Coast delivery with COVID-19 +VE mother was the first in the world where baby stayed with the mother for the duration of hospitalisation. Everywhere else had been removing baby from +ve mothers.

      I did read of a couple where the father had a temperature so was not able to be there for the delivery and had to be tested and self-isolate until the result was -ve.

      I have been in hospital twice in Qld when then were active cases. My first admission they had just eased restrictions. The visiting hours were shorter and they increased from 1 visitor only to 2 and no more than 2 hours. I was in CCU so perhaps slightly different for some cases, but staff would move people on. Yet others got away with coming out of hours, staying longer etc. It depended on the staff, but also the actual case and how busy they were to police it.

  • jjjaar on 24/07/2020 - 09:55
    +2

    Jenny Mikakos has provided the following detail on her Twitter:

    The only thing that’s changed is a pregnant woman giving birth can now have one visitor when before it was 2. Her partner/support person can stay for as long as they wish during labour & birth & after the baby is born.

    The 2 hour visit relates to subsequent visits and is the same as what applied in the previous directions too. The new directions should improve access for women post birth as a number of hospitals recently banned visits altogether.

    https://mobile.twitter.com/JennyMikakos/status/1286281929822…

    • alo1234 on 24/07/2020 - 10:50

      reading the whole tweet make it even more confusing, apparently Jenny Mikakos is contradicting previous statement from the DHHS website.

    • jjjaar on 24/07/2020 - 12:19

      Additional clarity was provided by Brett Sutton in today’s press conference.

  • pformag on 24/07/2020 - 10:38
    +3

    I'm in WA. Depends on the hospital.

    Joondalup Private is 2hrs for Fathers. No other visitors allowed. - Joondalup is a COVID-19 Hospital.

    St John of God Private is full access for partners, but only a max of 2 visitors at a time. ie Partner + 1 other person.

    NICU is only Mothers. No access for Fathers.

    Again it is based on Hospital Policy. Even during the peak in WA, SJOG was allowing 1 person in.

  • GG57 on 24/07/2020 - 10:43
    +1

    I saw this in the news earlier, and immediately thought about how there will be an outcry. Surely it just is what it is at this point in time.
    The parents will have a story to roll out for decades afterwards.

    • jjjaar on 24/07/2020 - 12:22
      +1

      Oh, it would be pretty awful to have a child and only have one person come visit and provide that support, especially when for many, the support network is much larger than that.

      However, the second the child is able to come home, they’re allowed others to visit/help under the rule of providing care.

      Surely it just is what it is at this point in time.

      Exactly. This restriction is about reducing the number of people entering our hospitals, and, while very, very hard, is understandable.

  • kanmen on 24/07/2020 - 12:26
    +1

    Spare a thought for people undergoing any type of medical procedure that similar things like this might apply to.

    For example, similar restrictions apply for procedures around miscarriages that mean that partners wouldn't be allowed to be with the patient.

    It sucks but at the end of the day it's meant to protect everyone involved as much as possible while being compassionate.

    • GG57 on 24/07/2020 - 13:17
      -1

      Yes.
      Imagine being a COVID patient in hospital; even more restricted. And if moved into ICU, it must be even worse for the patient.

  • Gifwonder on 24/07/2020 - 12:36

    Wife recently gave birth two weeks ago. Victorian private hospital.
    I was allowed to stay the entire time, never really left the hospital.

    they wouldn't let any other people in (such as my parents). not sure about public, are dads allowed to stay overnight?

    • GG57 on 24/07/2020 - 13:15

      It appears things have changed in the last two weeks.

      • popcornready on 24/07/2020 - 13:21
        +1

        Reading of the latest, it appears it hasn’t changed for private.

        Once you are in the hospital, if you don’t leave (I.e stay the night, which is allowed in private), then you can stay the entire time

  • shulks on 25/07/2020 - 09:11
    +1

    I had a baby recently and found a unfortunate loop hole. Get appendicitis(or your choice of non lethal but urgent surgery procedure) as close as you can to due date. Go to the hospital where partner is having baby. Hope for the best.

    The hospital was nice enough for me to have a bed in the maternity ward so got to share the room!

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