COVID-19

Darker skinned baby lying on back with arms open, next to a teddy bear soft toy

In response to COVID-19, neonatal units across the UK began introducing restrictions to parental access. At Bliss, we campaigned tirelessly for neonatal units to protect family involvement in care.

The issue

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted all areas of healthcare, including neonatal services. From March 2020 we saw:

Parent access to their babies being severely restricted, with some units only allowing parents to be present for a few hours a day and parents only able to attend one at a time. Wider family members, such as grandparents and siblings, being unable to visit at all.
Widespread use of PPE, including wearing gowns, gloves, and masks during skin-to-skin or breastfeeding.
Inconsistent practice between neonatal units and a lack of clear and consistent guidance from Governments and health services across the UK.

I had to talk to consultants alone, discussing whether my baby was going to live. I was alone when they resuscitated my baby. My breast milk supply and mental health suffered for 3+ months.

Mother of a baby born in April 2020

What have we been up to?

During the pandemic, we campaigned tirelessly for neonatal units to protect family involvement in care:

Nearly 4000 people joined our COVID-19 focused Parents Aren’t Visitors campaign calling on UK Governments and health services to return to unrestricted parent access and provide better financial support for families during the pandemic.

We published Locked out: the impact of COVID-19 on neonatal services highlighting the devastating impact restrictions had on babies and families. Parent experiences informed our recommendations to Governments and health services.

Met with Parliamentarians, Ministers and Health service leaders to push for parent access and involvement in care to be restored.

Developed a position statement for neonatal services which helped some health services make their policies more flexible.

Our campaigning supported changes to national and local guidance during the pandemic.

As a result of our campaigning, then Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated that parents are partners in their babies' care and should not be considered visitors on neonatal units.

What are we doing now?

Bliss is one of 13 pregnancy and baby charities who are Core Participants in the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. This gives us special rights in the Inquiry process, including being represented, making legal submissions and suggesting questions to the Inquiry.

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is an independent inquiry set up to examine the UK’s response to and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and learn lessons for the future.

Most importantly, it will mean that decisions made during the pandemic relating to pregnancy, antenatal, maternity, neonatal and postnatal care will be scrutinised, and the experiences of families and their babies heard and listened to.

Pregnancy and Baby Charities secure Core Participant status on the UK Covid-19 Inquiry

On 28th February 2023, the preliminary hearing for Module 3 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry heard that Bliss is one of 13 pregnancy and baby charities who have collectively been given Core Participant status in the Inquiry.