So now, yet another, organisation that wants to decide how the maternity services should be run, The Fatherhood Institute. Apparently we (midwives) don’t do enough to include them in antenatal and postnatal care, as we don’t ask questions if a father fails to show for the ante natal appointment and they feel that Fathers should be allowed to stay overnight with their partner and baby on postnatal wards. I’m sure that they are a lovely, caring organisation who are full of wonderful ideas but have they lost touch with reality, do they not read or listen to the media? At a time when the maternity services are struggling to cope with an increase in the birth rate, when units are closing and women are being turned away due to a shortage of beds we are expected to find somewhere for the partners to sleep, wash, pee and poo, I suppose we will have to feed them as well.
Why don’t the majority of fathers attend antenatal appointments? Could it be a question of finances I wonder? Pregnant women have a right to paid time off for all midwife/G.P/hospital appointments, and antenatal classes, their partners don’t.
I especially liked their accusation that “those (partners) that show no interest are not challenged” by us. Yep, I hold my hands up and admit to this, and the question I would ask is ‘what right have I got to challenge the way a couple manage their relationship/responsibilities?’ I can advise a partner, if I see him, that his baby’s mother needs support and help, but “challenge” him? Could be rather counter-productive and may result in me not being allowed back.All a bit tree-hugging really.
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2 comments:
I'm glad you are blogging on issues like this. Where do such people think the money for their 'hotelling' comes from? There are enough complaints about NHS wasting money on other things, such as management consultants, for instance, without it also having to provide this freebie. If it's such a good idea, then let some entrepreneur set up a 'birthing' hotel next to Stoke Mandevelle or some hospital and make money from it.
My other thing against it would be wondering if the mothers really did want the father there. You can't always tell them to go away, but they can be a pain. Mine was!
Do keep logging - tell us stories about what you do, like the random london ambulance driver does at http://randomreality.blogware.com/.
ejh2 - I just feel that whatever was done or provided would never be enough for some people. There was that fly on the wall undercover programme about maternity units and midwives, well I would love to take some reporter around with me for the week so s/he could see, and report, what the strains are within the service.
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