A mum shares her heartbreak after being separated from her newborn due to COVID restrictions

A mum in Northern NSW has shared her heartache after being separated from her newborn when he was flown to a Brisbane hospital after suffering breathing difficulties.

The parents are currently blocked from entering the hospital due to coronavirus restrictions with Health Ministers from NSW and Queensland now in talks and thousands of people petitioning to have the mother reunite with her baby.

The little one’s mum, Chantelle Northfield has taken to Facebook to share her heartbreaking story.

“For those who don’t know, Harvey was sent to a Brisbane Hospital via helicopter Friday night as he was having trouble breathing and needed further treatment then the amazing workers at Lismore could do,” she begins.

Chantelle goes onto explain that due to the coronavirus pandemic and the closure of the Queensland border, herself and her husband Glen, who are from Casino in northern NSW, would need to quarantine before being allowed into the hospital.

“Glen and I were refused entry to the hospital until after 14 days mandatory quarantine in a hotel,” she explains.

“We would of been more than willing to do that if there was a guarantee that Harvey would be there for that long but no one is 100% sure and the second he no longer needs such extensive treatment he will be flown back to Lismore.”

“Any parent can understand the stress and the heartache of being home without your baby whilst they’re in a hospital and you’re not allowed to visit. The biggest problem is me as the mother and the supposed provider of food source could not get an exemption even if I took a test and it came back negative.

“We have tried our absolute hardest to get there, and the workers for the hospital tried as well, it was just one person from higher up that refused our entry. On a good note Harvey has been getting better and they have lowered his oxygen levels down to 25% so far from 100% oxygen. The best we get is FaceTime for now.”

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard at a press conference on Monday he found out about the case on Sunday night while watching the news.

“No one has brought that to my attention,” he told reporters.

“But if I were not here, I would have actually made a phone call to (Queensland Health Minister) Steven Miles to find out what we can do, and I will do that as soon as this is all over.”

Mr Miles told 7 News on Sunday: “If there is any way at all we can make this situation any less distressing, then I’ve asked the hospital to do just that.”

Thousands of people have signed a petition to reunite Ms Northfield with her baby.

The petition reads: The importance of early bonding between mother and baby has been proven through numerous studies.

So why in Australia has a mother been denied access to her newborn baby?

Little Harvey Northfield was born on Friday the 14th August, where he was born in Lismore base hospital . Unfortunately Harvey was born with low oxygen levels and had been flown to Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital to receive life saving medical treatment, however his mother Chantelle has been denied access to her newborn due to her being from Lismore and the ongoing Covid pandemic.
No mother should be denied access to her child, especially a newborn. This is a gross breech of basic human rights. The lack of empathy, compassion and humanity Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital has shown in regards to ensuring that families remain together is deplorable.

We ask that Royal Brisbane Hospital provide Chantelle access to Harvey.

We also ask that Queensland Health investigate why Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital were allowed to keep a mother and her newborn apart, rather than work collaboratively with a willing family for a solution.

A MOTHER, HAS A RIGHT TO BE WITH HER BABY.