“In no hospital in New York will a woman be forced to be alone when she gives birth,” says Governor Andrew Cuomo. “Not now, not ever.”
In response to two of New York City's largest hospital systems, NewYork-Presbyterian and Mount Sinai, banning support people for women in labor during the coronavirus pandemic, Cuomo announced anmandating that hospitals allow partners in delivery rooms. According to the directive, mothers-to-be can have one support person—including a spouse, partner, family member or doula—with them throughout labor and delivery.
The announcement is a huge relief for expecting parents, doulas, and midwives. "This is a major victory for maternal health," says Jesse Pournaras, the Brooklyn-based doula who created aurging Cuomo to safeguard the fundamental right of all laboring individuals that has received over 600,000 signatures. As Pournaras laid out in the call to action, a support person is essential to care for a patient during labor—and risk would increase substantially without one.
"Continuous support means having a person with you the entire time, and nurses cannot be that person because they are, by definition of their job, incapable of spending 100% of the time in the room with you," explains Pournaras. "For people that don't have continuous support, trauma, interventions, and a feeling of being dissatisfied with your birthing process are all more likely.
A partner or chosen family member also offers all-important emotional support. "Having a loved one there is going to help you feel more relaxed," says Erica Chidi Cohen, doula, author, and cofounder and CEO of. "Being alone in a hospital room doing something as psychologically intense as birth without someone that you can really lean into or rely on is a really hard position to be in.
The scary reality of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it's a changing situation, and there's no telling what's on the horizon. As Cohen points out, being prepared for all scenarios is the best strategy to ensure the healthiest outcome. "We need to embrace the fact that this is insane and not what you envisioned—let that be present," Cohen advises pregnant women navigating uncharted territory in the time of COVID-19.
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