Pregnant mothers in New York are breathing a sigh of relief this week after Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order barring state hospitals from banning partners in the delivery room over coronavirus concerns. Just a few weeks ago, hearing a mom-to-be worry about whether they would have to give birth alone would have seemed ludicrous. And yet, it's one that many New York families suddenly faced last week, as two major NYC hospital networks blocked partners and any birth support from being present in delivery rooms.
News began to emerge on March 23, just hours after staff at NewYork-Presbyterian were informed of the ban. One day later, Mount Sinai followed suit.
Both hospital networks are sizable — NewYork-Presbyterian consists of 10 hospitals, which deliver approximately 15,000 infants per year, whereas Mount Sinai is comprised of eight NYC-area hospitals that deliver roughly 16,000 babies per year, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In addition to birthing partners, the hospital systems also blocked visitors, including family.
“We understand that this will be difficult for our patients and their loved ones, but we believe this is a necessary step to promote patient safety,” a spokeswoman for NewYork-Presbyterian said March 23, according to the WSJ.
When Mount Sinai Health System announced similar restrictions, they were defended as “critical to ensure that we can continue to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
“We do not take this decision lightly, but these are unprecedented times that require unprecedented steps to protect our patients, their families and their new babies,” a statement from the hospital network read.
As news spread throughout the metropolitan area, so did the panic among mothers just weeks or even days away from giving birth.
"Goodness gracious," one woman tweeted. "I cannot imagine giving birth alone."
Adrienne Stortz, who is 36 weeks pregnant with her second child, couldn't either.
“It’s just the worst nightmare to think about being in a hospital in labor for hours alone," the mom-to-be told the LA Times last week after hearing the news. "It’s not even about having some sort of magical experience that my husband is missing or this birth story not being what I’ve always dreamed about. It’s about surviving this. I’m just scared about the basics.”
Stortz, like many pregnant women right now, has already struggled with her husband being barred from her OB check-ups. Hearing that he might not even be there to witness the birth of their child was nothing short of heartbreaking.
Dorothy Stanford, a mother living in Queens, New York, shared similar fears with CafeMom last week.
"My doctor assured me that most obstetricians are pushing back on that, but I am so scared of going through this alone," she said at the time. "A C-section is scary enough and my husband was so wonderful during my first. I also hate the idea that he would have to wait to meet her."
Luckily, her hospital is part of the NYU Langone Network, and had no plans to bar partners at the time. But the likelihood that her hospital could fall in line, too, loomed large.
Even the actress Chloe Sevigny, who is pregnant with her first child, voiced her concern.
"I hope all expecting families are finding some calm," the actress wrote in an Instagram post on March 24. "Today’s news in NY was very distressing for all."
Birthing professionals, including OBs, midwives, and doulas, were also having a hard time coming to terms with the bans.
"Birth is a high anxiety time for most mothers," Kristie Breakiron told CafeMom last week. "As a doula, we are there to be the calm and reassuring face. The person holding space for them, working with their partners helping them navigate through the journey into motherhood. Whether it be their first or sixth time. Not having a familiar and comfortable support person with them during their birth can be traumatizing — for mothers and fathers alike."
Thankfully, those fears came to an end for thousands of NYC-area mothers on Saturday, when the governor's office responded to the outcry.
According to Melissa DeRosa, the secretary to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, an executive order was issued that will require all hospitals in New York state — both public and private — to allow pregnant women a partner in the labor and delivery room. (NewYork-Presbyterian and Mount Sinai are both private hospitals.)
“Women will not be forced to be alone when they are giving birth,” DeRosa tweeted shortly after the order was announced.
Though the executive order was announced Saturday, hospitals were actually notified Friday by the Department of Health, the New York Times reported.
A spokeswoman for NewYork-Presbyterian told the New York Times that the hospital network would comply with the order “effective immediately," adding that "our highest priority continues to be the safety and well-being of our patients, their families, and our staff."
The order also comes after a petition on Change.org racked up more than 600,000 signatures calling for an end to the ban.
Jessica Pournaras, an NYC-based doula, penned the petition on March 22, warning of the inevitable mental health impacts this could bring upon new mothers and fathers.
In a description on the petition page, she wrote:
"People will give birth alone. Parents will miss the birth of their babies. This is a dangerous policy. We need to get ahead of this and get an ear with Cuomo before this becomes the norm. NO ONE SHOULD GIVE BIRTH ALONE!"
On Saturday, the petition was closed and its status updated to one word: Victory.
