*Please sign the petition linked here*

“How long will this go on?”  I find myself just saying this out loud nearly daily now.  This may be the hardest part of COVID-19: the uncertainty, the unknowns, and no roadmap for the future.

While I struggle with this, I know expecting parents are struggling even more.  “What new rules will be in place when it is time for my baby to come,” and “will I have to be alone during or after labor” and “will my baby be taken from me if I test positive for COVID?”

Pregnancy is a time of so many unknowns, but we were at one time able to guarantee certain things: you will not give birth alone, you will not have to be alone in postpartum, there will be plenty of nurses to help you and your baby and your partner learn together.  Now, we can’t guarantee any of that.  

We know giving birth alone is dangerous, we know the 24 hours after birth can be equally so: postpartum hemorrhage and pulmonary embolisms (the serious complication that almost killed Serena Williams in 2018) alone, cause over a third of maternal deaths.  Added complications from surgeries and birth injuries can lead to patients being incapacitated and unable to care for themselves or their babies. 

Postpartum patients need support now. They need continuous loving support from their birth partner--from the time they enter the hospital, till the time they leave the hospital with their baby in their arms.  Anything less than this is dangerous and inadequate. 

We do not know when the threat of COVID will go away--we cannot wait any longer.  Too many people have been harmed already by these policies.