Governor Andrew Cuomo's Executive Order 202.25 dated March 7, 2020 prohibits hospitals from separating birthing persons from their birth partner during labor unless an exception for medical necessity is granted by the state Health Commissioner. Rochester Regional Health hospitals, however, have instituted a policy requiring birthing persons to be alone while they are in triage. The triage process of assessing the health of the birthing person and baby and labor progress can take 30 minutes to several hours, and separating birthing persons from their support network is in direct violation of the executive order.

Separating a birthing person from their chosen support person in this way not only has the potential to create psychological trauma but also to impede the physiological process of labor.

The reason given by RRH staff for this policy is that the small, curtained areas used for triage do not allow for proper social distancing. This could be overcome by requiring partners to wear proper PPE in triage or by modifying triage arrangements to prioritize the health, well-being, and privacy of birthing persons.

The doula community of Rochester, NY along with concerned families and individuals, recognizing the harm that separation from the birth partner can cause and how this interruption in support oversteps patient autonomy, request that Rochester Regional Health amend this policy immediately to keep birthing persons together with their support persons at all times including triage, as required by Executive Order 202.25.