Pregnancy & Maternity COVID-19 FAQ

The entire topic of COVID-19 and pregnancy is really a rapidly evolving area. There are more and more studies coming out with more and more data available to us. At this point, it seems that pregnant women are no more likely to contract COVID-19 than any other non-pregnant individual.

The most important measures to take to prevent moms and babies from getting exposed to COVID-19 are really the same things that everybody should be doing. That involves social distancing as much as possible whenever out in public and around people, making sure to wear a mask that covers both the mouth and nose, and adequate hand hygiene. It would be a good idea as well that when you have to run to the food store or pharmacy, etc., that you try to send someone else instead of the pregnant woman.

Pregnant women should certainly still be getting all aspects of their prenatal care that they would be at any other time. This might look and feel quite a bit different. For example, oftentimes, we aren’t allowing people to accompany the pregnant patient to their appointments. The appointments that would normally be face-to-face in the doctor’s office are sometimes being done as telehealth visits. But prenatal care is very important to make sure mom’s and baby’s well-being are being watched and managed closely. And it’s really important to keep that relationship with your delivering doctors and midwives because we really want to be able to take good care of moms and individualize the management plan for them. Prenatal care, ultrasounds and routine pregnancy bloodwork are still of the utmost importance.

Laboring mothers:

For a laboring mother, when she presents to L&D for evaluation of labor, she may bring one support person who is known to be COVID-negative or is asymptomatic with her. That person will have their temperature taken and be asked a set of questions at the screening check point at the hospital entrance, just as she will. As long as the support person passes the screening/temperature check, s/he may come with the laboring mom to L&D.

If on evaluation, it is deemed the patient is in labor then her support person will stay with her until she gives birth and is discharged. Her support person must go downstairs to the main lobby to be re-screened every 24 hours and more often as needed.

For COVID-positive mothers, all meals will be ordered into the room for the support person by L&D staff at no cost to the patient. The support person will be given the tray of the day, so s/he can’t order separate food or any type of special meals. Obviously, if the support person has a dietary restriction, those will be accommodated.

A COVID-negative mother’s support person may go to the cafeteria to obtain food or order food and have it delivered to the lobby. We would prefer that you do not bring food from home. We do not have kitchen areas available to families at this time to keep food items cold or microwaves to heat food.

Patients scheduled for a C-section or induction:

For a planned C-section or induction, the patient’s doctor’s office will order COVID-19 testing and tell her where to go for the testing. That testing will be done no earlier than 96 hours prior to the start of the C-section. If the test is not done within 96 hours of the scheduled C-section then another test may be performed at the hospital prior to surgery.

If the patient tests positive, she will still have the C-section but her support person will not be allowed to accompany her into the Operating Room and extra precautions will be taken to protect her, the baby and the staff.

The support person who is coming with the patient for the C-section should either be asymptomatic or known to be COVID-negative and must be able to pass the screening at the front door. Once again, if the support person passes the screening, s/he stays with the patient until discharge. S/he also must go downstairs to the main lobby to be re-screened every 24 hours and more frequently as needed.

For COVID-positive mothers, all meals will be ordered into the room for the support person by L&D staff at no cost to the patient. The support person will be given the tray of the day, so s/he can’t order separate food or any type of special meals. Obviously, if the support person has a dietary restriction, those will be accommodated.

A COVID-negative mother’s support person may go to the cafeteria to obtain food or order food and have it delivered to the lobby. We would prefer that you do not bring food from home. We do not have kitchen areas available to families at this time to keep food items cold or microwaves to heat food.

If the laboring mom is COVID-positive then the support person she brings with her needs to be COVID-negative or asymptomatic and also able to pass the screening test at the hospital entrance. Since exposure to a confirmed COVID-positive person will result in a failed screening, if the support person lives with the COVID-positive mom, s/he either had to have been isolated from her for the past 14 days or have been always wearing a mask, including while driving her to the hospital. The support person who passes the screening and is COVID-negative will become the caregiver for the baby and will take care of the baby until discharge.

The baby will either be isolated with the COVID-negative caregiver in a separate space, if space is available or could be isolated in the same room as mom, 6 feet apart from her in an isolette. When the baby is in isolation in the same room with mom, she and the COVID-negative caregiver will wear a mask, and the COVID-negative caregiver will also wear a gown and gloves. The pediatrician will help educate the mom to make an informed decision on where best to place the infant for isolation.

The baby will have their first bath within one hour of birth. There have been documented cases of transmission of COVID-19 to babies in utero but this is a rare event.

If a COVID-positive mom decides to breastfeed, according to the CDC guidelines, optimally, she would pump her milk and have a COVID-negative caregiver feed the baby. But if she decides she wants to put the baby to breast then she has to wear a mask, perform good hand hygiene, and we would like her to wear gloves and to put something clean (something she hasn’t worn) between herself and the baby, such as a cover gown. Since we know the virus can live on inanimate objects for up to 72 hours, we want to keep the baby as protected as possible.

Yes, lactation consults are being done for all patients.

They’ll go to the isolation room in the NICU and a COVID-negative support person may go with the baby. If the mom is COVID-positive, she’s not going to visit the baby in the NICU until she’s cleared. However, we have accommodations for video calling so mom may view the baby.

Depending on the circumstances, we are testing mothers who are arriving for their C-section if we don’t have results from the test they took within the previous 96 hours. Most of the physician offices right now are testing prenatally. So if you’ve gone to your prenatal visits and have been tested through your doctor’s office and you’re asymptomatic, there’s no reason for us to test you. If you’re symptomatic when you present for evaluation of labor, you may be tested. This is being evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

At this time, we are only testing symptomatic babies, but this is being re-evaluated weekly as new testing criteria becomes available. If a baby were to test positive in this case, s/he will be cared for by his or her mom, and she will care for them in full protective equipment (gown, gloves, mask and eye protection). All COVID-positive babies go home with their moms once they are well enough per the pediatrician. If mom is COVID-positive and too ill to be with the baby then another COVID-negative caregiver of mom’s choice may stay with the baby.

No. We don't require expecting mothers to self-isolate. However, it's suggested that they isolate as much as possible. If you have someone else do your shopping and limit your interactions to family/friends who have also been isolating that is going to help keep you safe. If you’ve been tested in preparation for an induction or C-section, we would prefer that you self-isolate. The best practice is to stay at home whenever possible to avoid any potential exposure. We also encourage you to be tested before you arrive for your delivery.

No. Only the approved, COVID-negative support person is allowed in the hospital.