A mother from North East Lincolnshire was forced to give birth alone without her partner. She was placed in an isolated hospital after she falsely tested positive for COVID-19.
Mother Goes into Labor Alone
Heather Stocks gave birth to her son, Vinnie, in August. She was admitted to Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire. Only two midwives were allowed in the room. Her partner and other family members were denied access to see her and the baby.
Stocks' partner, David Vickers, had to meet their son at the hospital doors the following day after Heather Stocks had been discharged. She was induced after having a growth scan; according to the doctor, her baby's movements were weak.
However, before she could have her scan, she had to have a COVID-19 test, a hospital routine. She did not show any symptoms. A midwife had told her that her test came back positive, but she did not feel ill, according to Euro Weekly.
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Following this, Stocks was placed into an isolated hospital room. She was told neither her partner nor her mother could come to visit her. The only ones allowed in her room were the midwives, who had to be dressed in full PPEs.
Stocks' paperwork was placed into a plastic bag and was taken out of the room. She said she was not allowed to be touched for a period of time after giving birth to her baby. She was discharged from the hospital on August 28, when her partner met his son for the first time.
Falsely Tested Positive for the Virus
David would have been able to accompany his partner had she not falsely tested positive for COVID-19. David was not allowed up the hospital room because Stocks tested positive, so he had to meet a midwife downstairs at the doors and see his son the following day.
Six days later, Stocks received two missed calls from Grimsby's hospital. The hospital told her that it was a false positive, and she no longer had to isolate. She was confused, and she could not rest and went to call them, according to CTV News.
Stocks said that her test did not give a clear number, and was sent to another laboratory to be tested further. That was when her test came back with a negative result. Stocks expressed her dismay that she gave birth to her son alone, was not allowed to hold him, and was isolated only to find out he was not positive with COVID-19.
Chief Nurse Ellie Monkhouse said that going through labor and delivery without a birthing partner is not a situation where they want any expecting mothers to find themselves. She added that they apologize for what happened to Stocks.
Monkhouse said that they are doing everything they can to be careful and to protect their patients and their staff in the middle of a pandemic as they do not want to further transmit the virus, according to MSN.
The chief nurse added that their clinical teams follow the national guidance, and they have to act on the information they have in front of them at the time and in the best interest of the staff and patients at the hospital.
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