Two in three women who had children during lockdown were forced to go through the experience without their partner, a damning report by watchdogs reveals. 

The Care Quality Commission also found a significant fall in the use of pain relief, a rise in  caesarean sections, and fewer women being offered support as they recovered from childbirth.

The regulator surveyed more than 23,000 women who gave birth during February 2021, when the country was in the middle of the third national lockdown.

The report showed that new mothers were left isolated by Covid restrictions.

Only 34 per cent of women had a partner remain with them for as long as they wanted before, during or after delivery, down from 74 per cent in 2019.

One quarter said they were left alone by midwives or doctors at a time when it worried them – up from 22 per cent in 2019.

A third of women (34 per cent) said they would liked to have seen a midwife “more often” during their postnatal care compared with 25 per cent in 2019.

The national research shows that women were far less likely to have pain relief, with a rise in caesarean sections.

Widespread use of ‘remote’ checks

The proportion of vaginal births fell from 72 per cent to 67 per cent, while caesareans increased from 29 per cent to 33 per cent.

The report reveals widespread use of “remote” checks such as telephone appointments for pregnant women, with 41 per cent undergoing consultations this way.

Just over half (55 per cent) of women who needed help from a midwife or health visitor about feeding their baby in the six weeks after birth definitely got it, down from 62 per cent in 2019.

NHS restrictions introduced in a bid to limit the spread of infection had a devastating impact on childbirth, the report found. A drop was seen in almost every type of pain relief, except epidurals.

The proportion using gas and air fell from 79 to 76 per cent, use of birthing pools fell from 19 to 15 per cent, painkilling injections went from 24 to 22 per cent, and the use of TENS machines from 15 to 14 per cent. 

And the numbers of new mothers receiving six-week checks on their baby’s wellbeing fell from 71 per cent to 60 per cent last year.

Postnatal experiences fall short

Ted Baker, CQC chief inspector of hospitals, said: “The pandemic brought about changes that limited choice and partner involvement and the impact is reflected very clearly in the survey results.

“It is also extremely disappointing that postnatal experiences continue to fall significantly short, with the pandemic exacerbating existing concerns about the need for better information and support for women in the weeks and months after giving birth.”

Elizabeth Duff, senior policy adviser at the National Childbirth Trust, said poor access to midwives in the postnatal period risked putting women in “real danger”, especially at a time when lockdowns meant other support from friends and family was more restricted.

She said many women had been left suffering “extreme anxiety, fear and isolation” because their partners had not been able to stay with them as much as they wanted.

“The impact of the removal of this support and advocacy can be immense. We have heard reports of women experiencing extreme anxiety, fear and isolation as a result of this. NHS guidelines have made clear that the woman’s partner is not a visitor but a member of the care team and should not be excluded,” she said.

An NHS spokesman said: “The pandemic has clearly had an impact on services but, as the survey shows, the majority of women who responded to the survey were positive about the care they received. 

“The NHS has continued to safely deliver 1,600 babies every day since the start of the pandemic and midwives and other NHS staff are working tirelessly to care for women and babies in extraordinary circumstances – ensuring the NHS remains one of the safest places in the world to give birth.”