Holles Street National Maternity Hospital is able to ease restrictions ahead of the Rotunda due to a large amount of development in recent years.
That is according to Peter Boylan, former master of the National Maternity Hospital.
He was speaking after the hospital announced it will allow unrestricted visitation for partners of pregnant people as part of a major update to restrictions.
On Thursday, Holles Street said inpatients can have one nominated partner with them between 8.00am and 9.00pm every day of the week.
Partners can also be present throughout labour – including from induction in the delivery suite and during Caesarean sections – as soon as the mother has been admitted to a bed.
While the Master of the Rotunda Hospital, Professor Fergal Malone, has said if more people using that hospital get vaccinated more restrictions will be lifted.
Dr Boylan told Newstalk Breakfast Holles Street is simply able to do more.
"I'm very pleased to see the easing of restrictions.
"I think there are some fundamental differences, however, between the Rotunda and Holles Street.
"The Rotunda is 275 years old, whereas the National Maternity Hospital - which was built in the 1930s and the 1970s - has had a huge amount of development in recent years.
"There's a new neo-natal intensive care unit with a lot of single cubicles, there's new labour rooms - and more coming on stream this year - new operating theatres, a new emergency department.
"The average age of women attending the Rotunda is 27, whereas in Holles Street it's 34.
"More than 70% of women attending Holles Street have been vaccinated, whereas we heard from Professor Malone - the Master of the Rotunda - only 40% in the Rotunda [are vaccinated].
"Also there's approximately 2,000 more deliveries in the Rotunda compared to Holles Street.
"So there's a lot of reasons for restricting visits the way they have to do in the Rotunda".
But he says compromises could be made in a number of areas.
"I note, with Holles Street for example, if somebody's having a 20-week anomaly scan the partner waits until the woman is called in for her scan and then comes into the hospital.
"And that seems like a reasonable compromise in terms of not over-crowding the waiting room, but also allowing the partner in".
