Health
Many moms may be laboring alone amid pandemic
BY HAZEL SHAHGHOLI
The NewYork-Presbyterian hospital network announced
a new wave of visitor restriction policies
over the weekend due to the coronavirus crisis. The
in-patient guidelines include the blanket barring of visitors
for any adult inpatient, with perhaps the most shocking of
the restrictions being the exclusion of birth partners for
laboring women.
A statement by the 13-hospital network read, “We
understand that this will be diffi cult for our patients and
their loved ones, but we believe that this is a necessary step
to promote the safety of our new mothers and children.”
The restrictions will also be implemented at affi liate Weill
Cornell and Columbia hospital networks across the city.
Women who have been admitted to labor and delivery
suites will be tested for COVID-19 regardless of symptoms
and will be forced to wear masks.
These updated visitation policy changes were released one
week after an initial rollout of stringent guidelines detailing
the postponement of all elective surgeries and reducing the
number of birth partners able to attend deliveries to one.
Also stated in the release was the following mediation
strategy: “We encourage visitors to remain closely connected
to their loved ones through virtual means, including
Skype, FaceTime, and/or phone.”
Patients who do not have access to such technologies
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
Public outcry against the policy has been extensive,
with one online petition gathering 300,000 signatures
in just 2 days
were not discussed.
This move by NewYork-Pres by te rian is completely unprecedented,
even within the current “epicenter” of the
virus, Europe. In the past few weeks, hospitals in the UK
have recommended birth partners wear masks, wash their
hands thoroughly and do not leave the delivery suite until
labor has ended and the newly formed family is discharged.
Even extremely hard hit hospitals in England that are banning
visitors from inpatient wards unless there are “exceptional
circumstances,” have retained visitation rights for birthing
partners, highlighting laboring women as a unique patient
population with specifi c needs.
A birth partner can be an aide in these times when
healthcare workers are stretched thin. For example, should
a laboring woman have a seizure, or faint, a birth partner
may be able to sound the alarm should overworked staff
members be absent.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist’s
Vice President of Practice Activities, Christopher
Zahn, MD, released a statement to amNewYork Metro on
March 23 which balanced the need for caution in hospitals
with recognition of the fact that “continuous one-on-one
emotional support provided by a partner or support person
such as a doula is associated with improved outcomes for
women in labor.”
Examples of such improved outcomes were discussed in
a Cochrane Systematic Review on “Continuous Support for
Women During Childbirth,” published in 2013.
As well as increasing a woman’s satisfaction with childbirth,
the presence and continual support of a birthing
partner had the following, statistically signifi cant benefi ts:
women were more likely to have a spontaneous vaginal birth,
had shorter labors, were less likely to have a caesarean section
or instrumental vaginal birth, rely on pain medications or
birth a baby with a low fi ve-minute Apgar score—a test used
to determine how well the baby tolerated the birthing process
and how well the baby is doing outside of the womb.
No offi cial from NewYork-Presbyterian was available
for comment as of press time.
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8 March 26, 2020 Schneps Media
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