Hospitals no longer allowing partners or support people

[Anonymous]

I’m seeing this going around.


https://www.change.org/p/andrew-m-cuomo-safeguard-the-right-of-all-laboring-people-during-covid-19-crisis?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_20977409_en-US%3Av1&recruiter=6302141&recruited_by_id=9dbb7f00-dce0-0130-93fc-3c764e049b10&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_abi&utm_term=psf_combo_share_abi

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m seeing this going around.


https://www.change.org/p/andrew-m-cuomo-safeguard-the-right-of-all-laboring-people-during-covid-19-crisis?utm_content=cl_sharecopy_20977409_en-US%3Av1&recruiter=6302141&recruited_by_id=9dbb7f00-dce0-0130-93fc-3c764e049b10&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_abi&utm_term=psf_combo_share_abi

On March 21, the NYS Department of Health issued clear guidelines on treating patients in labor during the COVID-19 crisis. These guidelines determined a support person, whether a spouse, partner or other chosen person, is essential to care for the patient during labor, delivery and in the postpartum period. The World Health Organization (WHO) agrees. We agree.
Beginning March 22, four hospitals in the New York City area will act against the DOH guidance and ban all support people--including spouses--from Labor & Delivery and Postpartum units. This means people in labor will give birth alone and parent alone. Parents will miss the birth of their child.
Fundamentally, risks for the people laboring alone will increase substantially. Not only can partners and spouses provide physical and emotional comfort during labor and postpartum, they are also essential in alerting staff when something has gone wrong and the laboring patient cannot notify nurses themselves, like in the event of an eclamptic seizure or a fainting episode. Timing is critical in these cases and monitors can be unreliable.
We cannot expect nursing staff, already spread thin, to spend the limitless hours needed with each patient to ensure their health and their baby's health, to provide physical assistance and emotional support.
We know the hospital system is overwhelmed in this crisis. However, the burden will only be increased by banning support people from Labor & Delivery. We must ensure no one gives birth alone. We must ensure the maternal mortality rate does not increase during this time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In Ontario, Canada they are allowing ONE person in with you for the birth. They have to pack what they need to be there and stay, including their own food. No running home or leaving the maternity ward for anything. Once that one person leaves the maternity ward there will be no re-entry.

This seems like the best option.

That was the policy the last two weeks. One support person, can't leave hospital once cleared. But this week is while other ball game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In Ontario, Canada they are allowing ONE person in with you for the birth. They have to pack what they need to be there and stay, including their own food. No running home or leaving the maternity ward for anything. Once that one person leaves the maternity ward there will be no re-entry.

This seems like the best option.

That was the policy the last two weeks. One support person, can't leave hospital once cleared. But this week is while other ball game.

In Public Hospitals in Canada, it has ALWAYS been the case in some provinces that you have to bring your own food and limit people in the room. THat is because once you are in the recovery/Maternity ward the rooms are always shared in public hospitals. My friend gave birth there and she was in a ward with 3 other women.

[Anonymous]

why can't people who aren't pregnant right now sympathize/empathize with those who are?

No one is trying to tell you what to do or how to feel, are they?

[Anonymous]

I had an appointment at GW today. My ob told me that you get one person and can still use a doula. I asked if she saw GW going the way of NYC with no one allowed if we get to crisis level. She said that she thought the practice would push very hard against that, but of course no one knows what will come.

I think that we will all have to do what we have to do, but I also think it's okay for us all to feel that this is an added stress in an already crazy situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Confirmed hospitals with no visitor/support person:

NYP
Metropolitan
Mt Sinai
NYU
Greenwich-CT

A good friend is supposed to have twins in 2 weeks at NYU. It's so terrible to think she'll have to do that alone - it's scary enough with one baby.

[Anonymous]

I’m also due at the end of June. My son’s birth ended up having some medical complications that could not have been foreseen before (his heart rate kept dropping/disappearing and he needed to come out fast). There’s no way I would deliver at home. As long as the medical personnel are as helpful as they were last time, I could deliver alone. It would be very sad for my husband to miss out on those first moments and days in person, but I could tough out the delivery. Now if the anesthesiologists aren’t available, that’s another issue...

Let’s all wait and see and try to put off worrying. We don’t know enough yet about what the situation will be next week, much less in a few months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why can't people who aren't pregnant right now sympathize/empathize with those who are?

No one is trying to tell you what to do or how to feel, are they?

Are you joking? That's all you rubberneckers in this thread are trying to do. Again, if you aren't in this position you have no idea what it's like and take your "advice" elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

It is a public forum. Anyone, anywhere, can comment.

[Anonymous]

I am not due til June, but we are now looking into home birith and searching for a midwife. This is my 2nd child, and I hated the experience at the hospital anyway with DS #1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is a public forum. Anyone, anywhere, can comment.

No one is saying you physically can't. We're saying it's rude and oblivious.

[Anonymous]

I've had a terrible experience all three times I've given birth (three different highly rated hospitals, three different parts of the country).

I cannot even imagine dealing with all of that without any support. If I wasn't high risk due to my age then I would seriously consider a home birth. I really think the chances of things turning out well would be higher, ESPECIALLY when you're also talking about an overrun hospital with stressed out, exhausted, and possibly sick doctors and nurses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We forget that, what, just 30-40 years ago men weren't allowed in L&D. It really, really sucks but we got this ladies. We'll make it through.

Women were drugged and “asleep” during labor. So they didn’t remember how they screamed. But more than that, women had their mothers and sisters with them before.

But I had two forced inductions. I’d assume they would not do those and let women go into labor naturally. So we could spend as much time as possible out of the hospital. My son had a shoulder dystocia that meant they sprained (luckily didn’t have to fully break) his clavicle to get him out. I’m a big nope on the home birth.

That was NOT 30-40 years ago. That was in the mid 1910s and only lasted a few years before the practice was ended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:why can't people who aren't pregnant right now sympathize/empathize with those who are?

No one is trying to tell you what to do or how to feel, are they?

Are you joking? That's all you rubberneckers in this thread are trying to do. Again, if you aren't in this position you have no idea what it's like and take your "advice" elsewhere.

I have zero ideas and zero advice. I am so incredibly sorry for everyone going through this while pregnant. Most of us have been through pregnancy and know how difficult that is WITHOUT doing it in a pandemic.