To Whom It May Concern

I am writing this on behalf of all the expecting mothers in Newfoundland, right now. On behalf of every single scared woman about to give birth during this pandemic, knowing they’ll have to do it mostly alone if something doesn’t change. Can someone please explain to me the logistics of allowing your support person in when admitted, during labor, but then making them leave the hospital after 4 hours until the mother and baby are discharged? Whatever germs may be present from the support person are already there, the mom and baby already have them due to contact. What is making the support person leave going to achieve?

We want change. No visitors, fine. Support person required to stay the WHOLE DURATION of hospital stay? Fine. Support person needing to leave after 4 hours? NO. This is not only hard on the mental health of the most likely first time mother, but a strain on the hospital team as well. Mothers who have just given birth do not want to be very active, (some can’t due to surgery, other limitations or complications) some mothers want to sleep and have the support person tend to baby, some mothers have mental health problems PREVIOUS to the birth along with the chance of PPA and PPD immediately after delivery and cannot or will not function properly alone. This leaves the nurses to deal with every need of every mother and baby, or a mother left not wanting to ask for help because they know how busy it is (or not being able to get it in time, for that matter). The hospitals themselves are very busy places, then you add a pandemic on top of it. The extra help from your one support person is needed. They say 4 hours is a perfect time to let the support person bond with baby and mom. No, it is not. A newborn baby has so many precious moments in the first days, weeks, months of their lives. 4 hours on the first day they’re born and then the chance of not seeing them again until 3 days later? In worse cases, longer than that? A LOT changes with a newborn in that amount of time. It is SO important that the support person stay.

All that we’re asking, is to remove the 4 hour restriction. If they have to stay in the hospital for the duration of mom and baby’s stay, and not leave, then fine. But do not make these mothers, (myself included) go through this fresh new time of their lives alone. Some don’t want to do it alone, some can’t. It’s not fair to force them to, especially when that person is already there for the labor and delivery anyways. Active labor can last for hours, pushing can last for hours as well. Removing them after already being there at that point.. not okay with us. This is one of the hardest things but most beautiful that life can offer a woman, and she should not have to endure any of it alone. We are asking you to please hear our thoughts, remember what it did to the mama’s of 2020, and change this rule.

Thank you for your time. Please send along any other concerns to Dr. Haggie’s office at

hcsminister@gov.nl.ca.

and Eastern Health at client.relations@easternhealth.ca