NEW dads will now be allowed to stay with their partners in hospital units that cares for sick and premature babies.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has changed a policy which allowed only mothers to stay overnight with babies in the transitional care units of its maternity hospitals.

The units offers mums specialised help to look after babies who have been moved out of intensive care but are not ready to go home.

Babies born prematurely or whose mums have diabetes will also be cared for in the unit.

The health board said it had recognised a desire by mothers to allow their partners to remain with them in the units.

It said that the change would help promote bonding between fathers and their children and educate dads in parenting skills.

Research shows fathers who play with their kids from day one not only boost their child's physical and mental development significantly more than those who don't "join in", but hands-on fathers also suffer from less stress.

The policy change will apply to all transitional care units at the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital, the RAH in Paisley and the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

Mothers have the support and monitoring of midwives, neonatal nurses and paediatricians, 24 hours a day in the units.

A spokeswoman for NHSGGC said: "We recognised that there was a desire by mums to allow their partner, usually the father, to stay with them in the unit and have recently changed our policy to allow this to take place.

"We understand the benefits of permitting this as it will help support the role of the father or partner and encourage bonding, enable the father or partner to better support the mother, and involve the father or partner in parent craft education."

The Fatherhood Insitute has previously called for dads to be allowed to stay in hospital overnight to bond with their newborn babies.

It said that postnatal double rooms where both parents could be with their baby should be routine.