Parents whose babies are being treated at Mater Dei hospital’s neonatal paediatric intensive care unit can only visit their children for up to two hours a day, a situation that is causing distress to post-partum mothers.

Parents who spoke to Times of Malta have voiced their anger and frustration at the restricted visiting hours, which were introduced as part of efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The restrictions, which have remained in place as others have relaxed, have robbed mothers of crucial bonding time with their infants and caused them unnecessary distress.

Oriana, who had her daughter in April 2022, developed pre-eclampsia after a complicated pregnancy and her baby was delivered very early. Her daughter ended up spending seven weeks in the NPICU.

While she appreciates the care and dedication that went into curing her child, she still holds anger towards the “disastrous and inhumane” situation with the visiting hours she had to observe after she gave birth.

“She was born at 5.15pm but I wasn’t allowed to see her until the next day. Then, we only had two hours every day to see her,” she said.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get over it, the psychological toll was horrible. The worst is when they would force us to leave and my baby would cry and I could not comfort her, I still feel very guilty about it.”

While the medical care her daughter received was exemplary, Oriana said mothers’ post-partum mental health and the help offered to them are lacking in comparison.

“Mentally I was a mess at the time and when I asked for help, they gave me an appointment three months later. My daughter was actually discharged before the date came.

“If they had asked me to swab every day I would have done it, I would have done anything they asked me to if it allowed me to stay with my baby.”

Ultimately, Oriana ended up in therapy to deal with the trauma the experience left her with and wants the situation to change so that other parents do not have to go through the same thing.

“This rule seems a bit arbitrary and unfair, it’s honestly put me off from having another child if I know I’m going to be put through the same experience,” she said.

I don’t think I’ll ever get over it, the psychological toll was horrible

Another woman, who asked not to be named, had to have an emergency C-section at 32 weeks last October, after which her son had to spend five weeks in the NPICU.

She said the experience had left a “constant physical ache in her heart” and she “cried every day” while separated from her son.

“My newborn son had left my body after seven months and was now kilometres away.

“My thoughts were gloomy. Every time he turned a week older, I wept because it was a week when I didn’t know him. Every time I arrived at the NPICU and they told me ‘Yeah he’s good today, just a bit fuzzy’ my heart broke knowing it was my little 1.6kg baby boy crying for his mommy’s warm embrace.”

The woman is still “consumed” by feelings of anger especially since the restrictions have been retained despite WHO research suggesting that keeping mothers and small and sick newborns together improves babies’ chance of recovery.

“We should have been hospitalised with him. Even if it meant we had to sit in the chair next to him for five weeks.”

Daniela, whose five-week-old son developed RSV in December 2021, said she felt sensitivity towards post-partum depression was very low and that some unit staff members were unsympathetic to her distress.

“At five weeks, you wouldn’t separate a dog from her puppies, let alone a mother from her son,” she said.

“I ended up developing PTSD and had to start seeing a psychiatrist. I spent a long time waking up screaming because I was stuck thinking someone was taking away my baby. Medically, they saved his life but you cannot just ignore how parents are feeling either.”

Sharon, whose newborn daughter spent 11 days in the NPICU in April 2022, said the experience was not only traumatising but impacted her plans to breastfeed her daughter.

“It was my wish to breastfeed her immediately but in that time, she got used to a bottle. At the very least, mums should be allowed in to breastfeed. A kind midwife put a tablet over my daughter’s incubator so I could ‘video chat’ with her, but mentally I was a mess.”

“I had just given birth via emergency C-section, my baby was pretty much dead. I had to wait 24 hours to hold her and bond and see how she was doing. Even telling you this now I’m tearing up.

“Giving birth is already mentally exhausting, as suddenly your baby is no longer a part of your body, but on top of that, I had no idea what she looked like and I couldn’t touch her or hold her, nothing.”

Times of Malta has sent questions about the restrictions to the health ministry.