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If you are having a vaginal birth you will be cared for in a birthing room as usual when you come to hospital to have your baby. Comfort measures and medications, such as those given through an epidural, will still be available. If you don’t have symptoms of COVID, your labour and birth should proceed as usual. The only major difference will be that all your healthcare providers will be wearing masks. Your baby will stay with you unless they require additional medical care from our neonatal team.
At this time, only one support person or visitor may come in for your labour and birth but be prepared for this to change at any moment. Also, your support person will not be able to enter the hospital if he or she has any symptoms of COVID or has travelled within the last 14 days. The person who comes to hospital with you must stay with you until you are discharged. There are no in and out privileges. If they leave for any reason they will not be permitted to return.
Modified as of June 5, 2020:
Partners or support persons will be permitted entry to the Operating room, to be present for birth, unless general anesthetic is required.
Most scheduled c-section patients will have a spinal anesthetic, meaning your partner/support person will be able to accompany you. If you require a general anesthetic, this requires intubation, which creates additional risk so partners/support persons will be asked to wait until you are in the recovery area to see you and your baby(ies).
Your partner or support person may also be asked to step out for any sterile procedures, such as epidural insertion. Please know that our team will do the very best they can to provide support to you during this challenging and important time.
Modified as of May 20, 2020:
If your baby needs to be admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, your partner will be able to stay with you on the Mother Baby Care Unit after birth as your support person.
NICU will provide information about visiting details once you are in hospital. In most cases both parents are able to visit the baby in NICU while in hospital, but only one parent can visit at a time. Once discharged home, one parent at a time will be able to continue to visit the baby. This person can be swapped once every 24 hours. No children or siblings are able to come to hospital.
Only hospital food services, such as the cafeteria, can be used while your partner is staying in hospital since food deliveries to hospital are completely restricted right now. We suggest bringing everything you need to the hospital with you.
This includes:
- All clothing and personal items for Mom, partner and baby
- Your infant’s carseat
- Non-perishable food and snacks in a cooler
- All the other things listed in the “Having a Baby handbook” located on this website, that you would normally bring such as, pads, a pen, comfortable clothes, etc.
