Giving birth is more complicated in a pandemic
New restrictions are in place at Grand River Hospital to protect against virus transmission
KITCHENER — Giving birth in hospital looks a little different during a pandemic.
At Grand River Hospital, which has the largest obstetrical program in Waterloo Region, precautions taken to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus range from requiring a mother to wear a mask during delivery to only allowing one person to come with her into the hospital.
Dr. Steve Halmo, who is chief of reproductive medicine and the medical director for the childbirth program at the Kitchener hospital, said a host of measures have been introduced to protect expectant mothers from risk of infection.
Outside of the hospital, obstetricians have opted to keep their offices open to prevent pregnant women from having to go to hospital for many medical concerns outside of labour.
Many low-risk and routine prenatal appointments are being conducted over the phone. As for routine lab tests, a woman is no longer required to wait in the lab for the results.
Mothers arriving at the hospital to give birth are screened at the entrance for COVID-19 symptoms, and like everyone else entering the hospital, sanitize their hands and are given a surgical mask to wear. They are allowed to have one support person to accompany them to the hospital for delivery, or for other serious appointments, as long as that person is healthy and shows no symptoms of the virus.
Halmo said the labour and delivery floor is as busy as it typically would be.
Staff on the floor try to keep a two-metre distance from each other and patients. During labour, everybody in the room is wearing a mask, including the mother.
“We recognize it may be a little uncomfortable for the woman in labour,” said Halmo. “The obstetrician or midwife or family doctor — whoever is actually doing the delivery — would be wearing a face shield as well.”
Halmo wants to ease any anxieties of new mothers who may be worried about the risk of infection, which he says is very low. The hospital is constantly revisiting and reassessing measures it has in place to prevent the spread of the virus.
If a mother going into labour does test positive for the virus, she and her support person would go to a designated room on the obstetrics floor. The two would not be able to leave the room during their stay in hospital.
Halmo said at this point, the majority of evidence shows there doesn’t seem to be any “vertical spread” of the virus, which is from mother to baby during pregnancy.
And if mothers who test positive are well, they are still able to breast-feed as long as they are wearing personal protective equipment and washing hands often.
The time spent in hospital hasn’t changed. As long as all goes well and everyone is healthy, mom and baby are home within 24 hours.