COVID baby boom was a bust: Five states report up to 50,000 fewer births since pandemic began

Early in the pandemic, many experts predicted that lockdowns at stay-at-home orders would lead to a surge in births. In fact, the opposite happened. As it turns out, Americans have not been getting pregnant.   There are five U.S. states that have provided preliminary birth data for 2020: Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii and Ohio, all of … Read more

Hospitals cancel home births and shut down stand-alone maternity units

Hospitals cancel home births and shut down stand-alone maternity units, but still ban mothers-to-be from having their partners at their side on the wards Since the start of the pandemic, home births have provided a solution for women This is due to hospitals banning them having partner at their side during labour But now, with virus … Read more

Boris Johnson backs MoS campaign to end lone births scandal

‘No woman should have to go through labour alone’: Boris Johnson backs MoS campaign to end lone births scandal Nearly half of hospital Trusts continue to ban partners from attending either labour or scans, or both, because of draconian Covid-19 rules Mail on Sunday is campaigning to end scandal, which has left women to give … Read more

Rate of very premature births falls by as much as 90% during coronavirus lockdowns

Hospital emergency rooms, hallways and even children’s hospitals around the world flooded with coronavirus patients as the pandemic engulfed much of the world this year.  But doctors at several hospitals scattered across the globe noticed that one ward of their facilities was conspicuously quiet: the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).  Usually busy with medical staff … Read more

Chaos as delays from coronavirus lockdown hit passports, registering births and renewing licences

Bureaucratic backlogs caused by the lockdown are paralysing the country, campaigners said last night. Despite coronavirus restrictions being eased, lives are still on hold because of massive delays at official agencies. Thousands of elderly motorists are housebound and isolated because of chaos at the DVLA – and: More than 150,000 babies are thought to lack … Read more