The petition, trending on Change.org, has collected more than 400,000 of its requested 500,000 signatures in less than five days. Created by New York City-based doula Jessica Pournaras, it asks the public to help “safeguard the right of all laboring people to have support during COVID-19 crisis” in the wake of new restrictions.
The Change.org petition, addressed to Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and state health commissioners Howard Zucker and Sally Dreslin, argued that withholding this support could incur serious consequences.
“Fundamentally, risks for the people laboring alone will increase substantially,” the petition said. “Not only can partners and spouses provide physical and emotional comfort during labor and postpartum, they are also essential in alerting staff when something has gone wrong and the laboring patient cannot notify nurses themselves, like in the event of an eclamptic seizure or a fainting episode. Timing is critical in these cases and monitors can be unreliable.”
As the prevalence of COVID-19 accelerates in New York City and across the state, several major healthcare providers have prohibited visitors from entering their obstetric units. The regulations are now in effect at all New York-Presbyterian and Mount Sinai hospitals, as well as Greenwich Hospital in Connecticut.
“In line with the latest guidelines issued by the New York State Department of Health related to COVID-19, we have revised our visiting policy,” New York-Presbyterian posted on its website. The message explained that no visitors, “including birthing partners and support persons,” are allowed inside the hospital’s maternity divisions.
“We understand that this will be difficult for our patients and their loved ones, but we believe that this is a necessary step to promote the safety of our new mothers and children,” the message said.
Greenwich Hospital’s website states that exceptions “may be made” for certain patients.
Data published by Johns Hopkins University Wednesday morning showed 15,405 active COVID-19 cases in New York City, now regarded as the United States’ viral epicenter, and 26,376 total cases statewide. To protect groups at a higher risk of contracting the illness, The New York State Department of Health issued an advisory notice last week limiting visitation across most inpatient medical facilities.
The guidelines stipulate that “hospitals are to suspend all visitation, except when medically necessary (i.e., visitor is essential to the care of the patient) or for family members or legal representatives of patients in imminent end-of-life situations.”
However, Pournaras’ petition noted that the memo explicitly advocates for one support person to accompany patients “throughout labor, delivery, and the immediate postpartum period.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have acknowledged a patient’s right to one companion present during labor, delivery and postpartum recovery in their own recent statements.
Pournaras is offering “virtual doula service” for those seeking additional support amid the updated visitation statutes. More information is available on her personal blog.
