It has been a long and hard two months for pregnant people and their families around New York and elsewhere. Today the task force led by Melissa DeRosa, Chair of the NYS Council on Women’s and Girls, and Secretary to New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo issued recommendations--that Governor Cuomo fully accepted--to protect pregnant people and their rights during this crisis and beyond. You can see the full set of recommendations here.

Governor Cuomo signed EO202.25 this afternoon which states hospitals must “allow any patient giving birth to have present with them: a support person, who does not have symptoms of COVID-19, for the labor, delivery and also the remaining duration of the patient’s stay; and/or a doula, who does not have symptoms of COVID-19 for the labor, delivery, and the remaining duration of the patient’s stay. The presence of a support person and/or doula will be subject to exceptions for medical necessity determined by the Commissioner.”  

These new recommendations issued by the COVID-19 Maternity Task Force also increase the number of birthing options for pregnant people by streamlining and expediting licensure processes for midwives and midwife-led birthing centers and will build a coalition of community stakeholders to address systemic racism and inequities that exist in maternal health.

These are huge wins for pregnant people across New York State and should set a strong precedent to protect the rights of expecting parents across the country.  

Thank you for being champions for maternal health, pregnant people and families--this would not have happened without you! There is still so much work to be done right now: newborns are still being separated from their parents across the country and insurance companies are not required to cover out of hospital births. I hope we can continue to impact change together.