Parenting: The role of fathers on maternity wards

In January, midwives at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary complained that expectant dads were treating maternity wards ‘like a hotel’. Issues ranged from dads sharing beds with new mums, ordering takeaway food and making other new mothers embarrassed about breastfeeding. But as NHS policy states that maternity services should be ‘mother-focussed and family-centred’, should more be being done to welcome fathers onto wards? Jenni speaks to Dr Jeremy Davies from the Fatherhood Institute, NHS midwife Leah Hazard, and Cathy Nolan, who gave birth to her son last May.