Partners have the legal right to take unpaid time off work to accompany expectant mothers to up to 2 antenatal appointments.

Unfortunately, as of Sunday 7th June this right is still being denied despite easing other Covid-19 restrictions and widespread public awareness of preventative hygeine measures; such as the use of medical masks and social distancing.

On 11th May 2020 the goverment published practical guidelines to make workplaces as safe as possible for people to go back to work; with many people in the UK now using public transport to do so.

Yet to date, no such guidelines have been issued to ensure that expectant mothers can be safely accompanied to antenatal scans which determine the physical development of their baby; not even by a member of their own household including biological parents.

This discriminatory situation can result in resorting to expensive private scans that not everyone can access and potential deterioration of the involved individuals mental health; which may well suffer as a result of the unfair restrictions. For instance, couples who have ungone fertility treatment together, suffered previous loss of pregnancy, or those who are experiencing PTSD as the result of a past traumatic pregnancy may be particularly vulnerable at this time.

The situation is aggravated by fact that certain hospitals are permitting partners to attend the tentative '12 week scan,' where most are not. Milton Keynes Hospital have confirmed that they are permitting one accompanying person to attend the 12 and 20 week scans with an expectant mother during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The World Health Organisation and the RCOG/RGM advise that you will still be able to have your birth partner present at the birth of your child, as banning a birth partner is a profound restriction on a women's right to choose and a disproportionate response to the current pandemic that has been reflected in current guidance. Yet partners are still banned from attending critical antenatal scans at most hospitals nationwide.

Please sign this petition to call for fairness accross the UK, in restoring the rights of those who are facing the injustice of determining the viability of their pregnancies alone; by asking the goverment to update relevant guidance allowing expectant mothers to be accompanied to antenatal appointments.