Case of woman who spent labour in car park to be with husband raised in Seanad

The case of a pregnant woman who spent her labour in the car park of a Dublin maternity hospital until just before she gave birth because her husband was not allowed into the hospital has been raised in the Seanad.

Fine Gael Senator Regina Doherty cited the case as she highlighted ongoing “discrimination against partners of pregnant women” in the State’s 19 maternity units.

Ms Doherty, the Seanad leader, said Breege O’Connor gave birth to her second “Covid baby” but “she had to [spend] her entire labour period in the car park of the Coombe hospital”.

“What she was offered was to come in on her own and leave her husband in the car or walk up and down the car park of the Coombe hospital to suffer her labour on her own with no pain relief, no support,” she said.

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“She was left in the car park by the people in the Coombe hospital until just before she was ready to give birth to her little son and was then, at that stage, brought in.”

Ms Doherty said: “I don’t know how anybody in this country can think that’s acceptable, but what’s really bizarre is that the treatment she and her husband received is absolutely okay under the HSE guidelines that were issued on September 13th.”

‘Mistreatment’

The former minister said she would discuss the issue with the Oireachtas female caucus members and meet the 19 heads of midwifery in the units "to see what they have to say about the continuing mistreatment of the women of Ireland by the maternity services in this country".

Asked about the claims, the Coombe said it could not comment on individual cases.

Maintaining a patient’s confidentiality was both an ethical and a legal requirement, a spokesperson said.

However, the hospital pointed to its updated policy on partner attendance which says that women giving birth are allowed to have one designated partner who may accompany them once the woman “is admitted to the delivery suite”.

Designated partners can attend the early pregnancy assessment unit, dating scan, and the 20-22 week (anatomy) scan.

“We understand that ongoing restrictions on access are challenging for women and their families. These restrictions are in place to protect patients and their newborn babies,” the hospital says on its website.

New figures from the Department of Health show 12 pregnant women have been admitted to ICUs with Covid-19 since late June.

Data released to The Irish Times shows the number of pregnant women receiving hospital care in the ICU for Covid-19 rose from less than five cases in the first wave of Covid-19 to 19 cases in the third wave, and 12 cases in recent months.