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Marc O'Sullivan

'Between vaccines and restrictions, we need to look at how pregnant people are being treated'

This country has a long history of treating pregnant women and girls appallingly; the pandemic should not be an excuse to continue to do the same, writes Seána Glennon.

IN A SHOCK announcement at the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) briefing on Thursday evening, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn reported the occurrence of a cluster of four recent stillbirths in Ireland among pregnant women with Covid-19.1

Inquests and further investigations have yet to occur. Health officials were clear that these were preliminary reports that the stillbirths could potentially be associated with a Covid-19 complication known as Covid Placentitis.

This sad news prompts us to take a step back and look carefully at how pregnant people have been treated in this country since the advent of the pandemic.

For most of last year, partners of pregnant women were excluded from attending hospital appointments due to the Covid-19 restrictions. Hundreds of expectant parents wrote to the Minister for Health to protest the inhumanity of this set of circumstances, many describing their experiences of learning of a miscarriage alone or their fears of being forced to go through labour with no support.

In response to this outcry, the HSE conceded that partners of pregnant women would be permitted to attend their 20-week scan, as well as surgical interventions.

In January, however, some maternity hospitals including the Coombe, the Rotunda, Cork University Maternity Hospital and University Maternity Hospital Limerick have reintroduced these same restrictions, again barring partners from important scans.

The draconian nature of these restrictions, and the ad hoc manner by which they are enforced in some hospitals and not others, is a source of great anxiety for expectant parents, women especially.

Early pregnancy is something that we do not talk about widely in our society.

Even where a pregnancy is planned, it can be a lonely and difficult time for women who are experiencing huge physical changes and worrying about the possibility of losing the pregnancy.

The convention is that most women do not tell their families, friends and colleagues about their pregnancy until after 12 weeks, at least, when the risk of miscarriage has reduced.

This means that there is little in the way of a support network for many people at this early stage, other than their partners. For partners, then, to be excluded from important early scans and appointments, is a grave measure.

I am currently in my 12th week of pregnancy. Like many women in the first trimester, I am experiencing extreme fatigue and often debilitating nausea. I attended my first scan alone, in the National Maternity Hospital, with my husband sitting in the car outside.

I am very grateful that my scan showed a strong foetal heartbeat and a healthy pregnancy; I wish that I had not had to experience the dread of attending the appointment alone and I cannot imagine how it would have felt to receive bad news, on my own, that day.

Many women throughout the pandemic have had that very experience. Of course, the country is experiencing a surge in the virus, and restrictions are necessary.

The restrictions imposed on pregnant women, however, are disproportionate and unfair, and it is unclear whether concrete evidence exists that the exclusion of partners from these very important hospital appointments is a proportionate and necessary measure to curb transmission. This is especially the case given that most healthcare workers have now been vaccinated.

Surely it is time for a consistent and proportionate policy to be implemented across all the country’s maternity hospitals, so that pregnant women know what to expect and can plan accordingly?  

Meanwhile, pregnant women languish at the end of the vaccine list.

On Friday, the master of the Rotunda Professor Fergal Malone said that “putting them at the end of the queue is not a good thing”. 

There are international studies showing that pregnant women with Covid-19 may be at higher risk of serious complications, hospitalisation and death from the virus than non-pregnant women of the same age.

The HSE has in recent weeks issued guidelines to state that pregnant women with certain medical conditions or working in the healthcare sector may be included in those respective groups in the roll-out order.

All other pregnant women, who are not frontline healthcare workers or high risk for another medical reason, remain in the last category, despite arguably constituting a high risk group by virtue of being pregnant.

The latest news makes that position all the more stark.

The alerts issued by the HSE and NPHET warning of Covid Placentitis have not been accompanied by any undertaking to reassess the priority to be afforded to pregnant women in the vaccine roll-out.

The allocation of last place for pregnant women, coupled with the lack of any promise to reassess this in light of this news, is evidence of this category of citizen being considered as an afterthought throughout the pandemic.

Pregnant women are not a static group and given the gender disparity in the Dáil, they often appear to be overlooked.

It is unsurprising that the perspectives of women in this context fail to be meaningfully taken into account in circumstances where, for instance, there is no female representation on the Cabinet Covid-19 Committee or the Cabinet Health Committee.

Gender inclusion in these decision-making forums matters; our life experience impacts how we perceive the world, and women’s experience of these issues inevitably differs to men’s.

In short: the vaccine roll-out order must be re-examined. The restrictions on partner support at hospital appointments at which potentially devastating news may be received need to be reassessed. Finally, changes need to be made in the key decision-making bodies, including the Cabinet Covid Committee, to ensure that women are properly represented and have their interests taken into account.

This country has a long history of treating pregnant women and girls appallingly; the pandemic should not be an excuse to continue to do the same.

It is clear that those within the key (male-dominated) decision-making forums are not going to speak up for the rights and interests of pregnant people; as such, it is incumbent upon us to do so ourselves, and to demand to be listened to.

Seána Glennon is a PhD candidate at the School of Law in UCD, recipient of the 2019 UCD Sutherland School of Law doctoral scholarship and an Irish and English qualified solicitor.

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    Mute Ailís McKernan
    Favourite Ailís McKernan
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    Mar 1st 2012, 12:08 PM

    a farce, thats all it is.

    62
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    Mute Keith Twamley
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    Mar 1st 2012, 12:33 PM

    €19,100 a month, think Europe needs to tighten it’s own bloody belt.

    52
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    Mute jumpthecat
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    Mar 1st 2012, 12:40 PM

    He’s belt is tight enough by the look of him. Cardiff has the look of somebody after 10 pints after the All Ireland looking for a chipper.

    49
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    Mute Karl Doyle
    Favourite Karl Doyle
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    Mar 1st 2012, 12:40 PM

    The UK pays them £50 million per day, they don’t need to tight.

    13
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    Mute Aaron McKenna
    Favourite Aaron McKenna
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    Mar 1st 2012, 12:09 PM

    That’s our secret plan to write off the debt sorted.

    As the old joke goes, “Well, the strategy is… We’re hoping that the people who lent us the money will forget about it.”

    Seems more plausible with Kevin auditing the books.

    50
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    Mute Sean O'Keeffe
    Favourite Sean O'Keeffe
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    Mar 1st 2012, 1:48 PM

    @Aaron.
    I’ve grossly underestimated the genius of our political leaders. How long before Brussels is running like our DoF?
    If the Eurocrats uncover Kenny’s devious plan, he could always threaten them with more civil servants if he doesn’t get concessions!

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    Mute John Murphy
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    Mar 1st 2012, 12:36 PM

    My comments about this chap keep getting deleted so I’m trying a new tack.
    Best of Luck Kevin! We’ll all miss you.

    47
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    Mute Kevin Smyth
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    Mar 1st 2012, 1:35 PM

    Somehow I don’t believe you. But, since I don’t want my comment deleted either, I wish him all the best, He’s a virtuous, honest and devilishly handsome man. I have absolute trust in him. He’s GREAT!

    25
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    Mute Eileen Gabbett
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    Mar 1st 2012, 8:36 PM

    I don’t believe you either John ….
    I hope he works out as well over there as he did here and that
    when he does, the same or similar , he will get his just desserts.
    Best of luck Kevin :)

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    Mute Peter Carroll
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    Mar 1st 2012, 12:04 PM

    Quick, count the stamps.

    32
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    Mute Pat Mc Cormack
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    Mar 1st 2012, 12:51 PM

    He looks like Biffo after a few pints

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    Mute Billygoatmuff
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    Mar 1st 2012, 2:43 PM

    He’s more like Harney after a brief run.

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    Mute LoyalIrish Citizen
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    Mar 1st 2012, 12:52 PM

    I hope he does the same job for them as he did for us.

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    Mute Pat Mc Cormack
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    Mar 1st 2012, 12:47 PM

    This Guy is so Cool….
    I hope he has a Wonderful time in his new job,
    I really wish him all the very best x x x x

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    Mute Gerard Murphy
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    Mar 1st 2012, 1:58 PM

    Good luck Kev, hope the new job works out well, did you get the new (working) calculator I sent you?
    I know it’s a big sacrifice for you going ovef there, what with the poor pay and all that, we’re all rooting for you back home!

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    Mute Innishvilla
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    Mar 1st 2012, 2:53 PM

    Taking up the auditors post is OK. Just don’t let him open it or play with Money and stuff

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    Mute Glyn Carragher
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    Mar 1st 2012, 1:40 PM

    Nice Photo! But I cant make up my mind whether the slogan or the individual is the bigger joke

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    Mute hjGfIgAq
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    Mar 1st 2012, 1:38 PM

    Hey folks,
    Thanks for all the comments on this. I just wanted to note that the only comments that were deleted contained offensive language and were removed as per our comments policy.
    Susan

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    Mute John Murphy
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    Mar 1st 2012, 3:41 PM

    Aww Susan. Ya could let us off once in a while.

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    Mute Rommel Burke
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    Mar 1st 2012, 3:12 PM

    Bunch up on the sofa, Kevin coming!

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    Mute Patricia Gilheany
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    Mar 1st 2012, 4:48 PM

    Cardiff gone to pastures new and leaving one hell of a mess behind him. Just look at what Anglo got away with under his watch,—Maple 10, loan warehousing etc etc etc.

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    Mute Frank2521
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    Mar 1st 2012, 4:48 PM

    For years we sent the cretins to Europe just look at our history Frank Rossi, Pee Flynn, Charlie Mc Creevy, Lucy Cretin and to top it off Our very own Kevin Cardiff. We thought we were just getting them off our TV sets as we were sick of them – now they happen to hold important positions by default. We were caught out. Still we won’t have to see as much of them walking our streets. Lucy takes up the whole footpath in Sandymount.

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    Mute Getard Langslanger
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    Mar 1st 2012, 3:28 PM

    He’s the spit of Benny Hill and a comedy( of errors) genius to boot

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    Mute Shane Farrell
    Favourite Shane Farrell
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    Mar 1st 2012, 9:28 PM

    Lets just be glad he is gone!!!!

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