Marie Kendall, who is pregnant with her second child, said many women wanted and needed the support of the father or partner when they were having antenatal scans, especially at the critical 20-week point.
However, the government have confirmed that the restrictions will remain in place following a ministerial response to an online petition that amassed more than 1,000 signatures. Mrs Kendall questioned why non-essential shops were reopening and other restrictions were being relaxed when fathers, partners and other companions were still banned from baby scans.
She said: ‘You can go into a supermarket with 50 people who are complete strangers, you can sit two metres from a complete stranger in a hairdresser’s, but you can’t go into a hospital with your partner.
‘A hospital should be one of the safest places to be.’
Mrs Kendall’s scan showed no problems but she pointed out: ‘If something had been wrong I would have been very much alone.
‘I would have had to break the news in a conversation over the phone, and not have had that close, immediate support.’
The gender of the child can also be revealed at the 20-week scan, although some parents choose not to be told and wait until the birth for the news. Mrs Kendall said it was also something both parents should hear together. She added: ‘It’s not just about the mother. Why isn’t a father able to be there to see his child for the first time in what’s supposed to be a safe environment?
‘A woman can feel she is doing her whole pregnancy on her own.’
Mrs Kendall’s comments follow a petition that was launched calling for health authorities to relax the rules and allow women to bring a companion with them to ante-natal scans. Partners have been banned from them since 14 December.
More than 1,300 people have signed the petition so far.
Senator Sam Mézec also questioned the imposition of the restrctions. In a tweet this weekend, he wrote: ‘Soon a pregnant woman will be able to go to a restaurant with 9 people from 9 different households, but won’t be able to bring their partner (who they live with and sleep in the same bed as every night) to their antenatal appointment.’
In a response to the petition, ministers stated: ‘The importance of the support that partners and relatives can provide to pregnant women is recognised, but this needs to be balanced against the need to keep women and staff safe from Covid.’
The response also said that one of the primary reasons for the restrictions was that the Island had only one full-time sonographer – which is normal for a hospital the size of Jersey’s – and the Health Department did not want to increase the risk of key staff being forced to isolate.
In the response, which is attributed simply to ministers, they explained that the hospital carried out 25 scans a day as well as other women’s appointments, and said: ‘The waiting area in the clinic is small, with physical distancing measures in place reducing capacity to four chairs.
‘It is the only area for women to wait whilst attending antenatal appointments. Women and partners would have to wait outside or in car parks to reduce flow.
‘The antenatal clinic only has one way in and out and therefore we are unable to operate a one-way system, which makes it very challenging to ensure that physical distancing is adhered to.’
They add that the position will be reviewed regularly.
