Pregnant women use lockdown rules to confide in Sheffield midwives about domestic abuse

Covid restrictions in hospitals mean partners and relatives cannot attend scans or after care appointments with pregnant women.

Health services such as the emergency department at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Trust initially reported a slump in domestic abuse cases coming through, but these have risen again as lockdown has eased.

However, midwives have seen more women disclosing domestic abuse during scans as they are now alone in the room without partners.

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By contrast, where appointments have been at home, there have been more issues seeing women alone to ask routine questions because partners have been there during lockdown.

Alison Higgins, who deals with domestic abuse on behalf of Sheffield Council, told a meeting: “The guidance is that midwives and health professionals should see women on their own and ask questions three times in the pregnancy and also afterwards when the baby is born through health visitors.

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“While it's in the guidance, sometimes people who are being abusive will go to great lengths to stop somebody being able to talk to a professional on their own.

“Covid gave health professionals that impetus to have an excuse to say no, you can't be there.”

It has shown a different side to the Covid rules, which have been criticised for leaving women who have suffered a miscarriage to deal with the trauma alone.

Olivia Blake, Sheffield Hallam MP, recently wrote to the Government asking it to review the support arrangements.