Expectant Dads Blast Hospital For Banning Them During Labor

NEW YORK, NY — A New York City hospital system is facing intense backlash over a new policy that will ban visitors from supporting patients in order to reduce the spread of coronavirus, according to an online petition that is racking up signatures at a rapid pace.

A Change.org petition launched by a New York City-based doula — a non-medically-trained worker hired to support pregnant women during and after labor — blasts NewYork-Presbyterian hospital for its new visitation policies. The petition claims that limiting visitors to support women going through labor will put an increase strain on the hospital's nursing staff and could result in increased rates of patients and babies suffering birth injuries or requiring care after labor.

Supporters play a significant role in labor by providing emotional and physical support as well as alerting medical professionals to potential problems during childbirth, according to the petition.

As of this writing, the petition has garnered more than 135,000 signatures. Organizers plan to send the petition to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and state Health Commissioner Howard A. Zucker.

NewYork-Presbyterian announced its new visitation policies Sunday in a statement.

"With our focus on the best interests of our new mothers and children, we have made the decision not to support visitors, including birthing partners and support persons, for our obstetric patients," the hospital's statement reads. "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."

NewYork-Presbyterian's policy bans visitors for all adult patients across the hospital system's many departments.

People who signed the petition include expectant mothers and fathers as well as labor supporters such as doulas and midwives, according to comments posted to the petition.

"I'm signing because I give birth to our first child in 30 days. We pregnant women need our husbands/spouses with us. A nurse doesn't know us, doesn't know how to keep as relaxed nor is it fair for us to do the alone and have our husbands/spouses miss an extremely important event," one signer wrote.