"Why are dads kicked out of maternity wards at night?"

Why do dads get asked to leave the maternity wards at night? All we want to do is be there to take care of our significant other (be it wife or de facto partner or whatever). 

In my opinion, there aren’t enough staff on duty to respond promptly to most nurses calls as it is. Take a hint: we are free! All we want is the opportunity to be there when we are needed. Examples: My wife needed assistance to get up to go the toilet after her C-section so she pressed the nurse's buzzer to get some help. Baby was fussing and crying at the time so I (the dad) was occupied. After 30 mins of waiting (I had managed to settle baby) I reset the nurse buzzer and assisted her myself. Now you may say - that’s not too bad, its only 30 mins - however, the patient in the bed next to her's had the same problem after her partner had been sent home and ended up waiting for an hour before she got a response.

I find that in today's modern world where dads are encouraged to take active roles in the raising of their children, they are asked to leave at a time when our assistance is greatly needed. I don’t think its asking for much to be offered a decent chair and the chance to take care of the people we love. Who do you think is going to be doing it after they come home? Answer - we are. Get with the times. I’ve tried to think of your arguments to support your actions. Things like - you have to leave so they can rest. FYI, mothers with newborns don’t sleep the night through like your average hospital patient, in fact, they will probably get more rest when there is someone to help them. I’m sure you have other points and I’d very much like to hear them because I’m pretty sure in most cases it’ll be better off having the extra help around. I spoke to some of the midwives and support staff and they seem to appreciate the help and support us partners provide and some even agree with my position that we should be allowed to stay if we want to.