take your baby home as soon as it is safe for you to do so. If a woman attends an antenatal appointment but describes COVID-19 symptoms, she should Visiting restrictions during COVID-19. Hospital number You can still register for your baby box at one of your antenatal appointments and it will be delivered within 4 weeks of your due date. It’s important to remember that, while staff will do everything they can to help you have the birth you want, birth can be a very fluid process. To book your place, please email [email protected]. © 2020 The National Maternity Hospital All rights reserved. If you have COVID-19, there is a chance that your baby might catch it from you after birth. If you are required to have an operative birth, such as a C-section, your birth partner should also be allowed to be there, except when a general anaesthetic is needed. You can reduce the risk of your baby catching coronavirus by: Coronavirus (COVID-19): Pregnancy and newborn babies, Scottish Government national guidance on hospital visiting. If you’ve booked in to antenatal classes like birth classes, baby classes, yoga or hospital tours, your classes might be rescheduled or held by video. All visitors should check local guidance and can also refer to Scottish Government national guidance on hospital visiting. During COVID classes are online but are interactive and live, fun and highly educational. Talk to your health care team about their recommendations for feeding your baby safely. “We’re all exploring worst-case scenarios,” she said, explaining that doulas are now organizing and advocating for hospitals to recognize them as “essential personnel”, not just visitors. Then again, she adds, there is a moral calculus to be made: is it the civically responsible, ethical choice for a doula to stay home, rather than insist on being present in hospital environments? Personally, I can’t yet imagine transitioning to a home birth. https://rise.articulate.com/share/Yr_wlHG_80oigSWQyyddGTth_T4kJvBv#/. Some babies can develop an unstable temperature (too hot and/or too cold) and/or a cough. We recommend that you review each module prior to the classes. This might include wearing special equipment and asking you to wear special equipment, like a face mask. In all Tier areas (0 to 4) your one birth partner can visit you on the postnatal ward, However, they must not be unwell or have any symptoms of coronavirus or be self-isolating. The Solihull Approach would dearly love to make it free to everyone but we also need to make sure the site is stable and can handle an influx of new learners without crashing! The class aims to empower women to maximise their chances of a vaginal delivery. It is written by midwives, health visitors and clinical psychologists. If you are concerned that you are at risk of coming into contact with the virus at work, speak with your employer. In Tier 0 to 2 areas you may have a second birth partner, subject to local risk assessments and physical distancing. Sorry for any disappointment if it appears unavailable in your area. https://rise.articulate.com/share/zMU4l-dkONipTjMMY0z3HF8NRv5EPY3u#/. During the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, some choices such as home birth were unavailable due to staff and patient safety concerns. Other mothers may need to stay longer. Sarah Gormley, a doula based in Atlanta, has fielded various concerns from her clients in recent weeks. What to do if you think your baby is unwell. If you become unwell in any way at home with your baby please contact your GP practice, midwife or maternity unit. This document intends to outline which elements of routine antenatal and postnatal care are essential and which could be modified, given national recommendations for social distancing of pregnant women. For non-emergency concerns do not hesitate to phone NHS 24 on 111. All local maternity units offer antenatal education classes. For Pregnancy related videos, please visit  https://whatsupmum.ie/pregnancy-videos/pregnancy-videos/, For Parent Craft videos, please visit https://whatsupmum.ie/parentcraft-classes/parentcraft-class/, Information for patients on blood group and transfusions We know that a positive birthing experience can positively affect a woman’s long term wellbeing, and we aim to empower women and their partners to believe in themselves through a partnership approach. Antenatal care. If you have a partner or another adult at home, have them get the groceries and do other essential shopping. During visits: Please take a few minutes to complete this evaluation of your class: To complement and support your antenatal education needs, a multidiciplinary team led by Professor Grainne Flannelly have developed an  eLearning Hub,  This incredible multidisciplinary team  is composed of NMH healthcare professionals including midwives, physiotherapists, lactation consultants, dieticians, paediatricians, obstetricians, psychologists and many more. If you’re pregnant or have recently had a baby, you might have some questions about how the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak could affect you and your baby. Group antenatal classes may be available online or face-to-face. The other day, I checked in via text with a friend in California who is due in May. This is more likely to help protect them. These appointments could be with your GP, midwife or obstetrician, as well as special appointments for any necessary scans or tests. No one plans to be pregnant during a pandemic, but our hospitals and birth centres are always ready to offer you top-quality care. We comfort each other by echoing a refrain that feels like a well-worn talisman: women have been doing this for thousands of years, through war and plague, starvation and social upheaval. Beyond this being so unprecedented that even experts don’t have answers, what fuels my anxiety is the threat of hospitals becoming so overburdened that by the time I’m delivering, I’m in the care of a skeleton crew of exhausted healthcare workers who can’t even access the basic supplies they need to proceed with safe medical procedures. With hospitals and doctors’ offices adopting different policies individually, and news about the pandemic’s effects changing by the hour, I felt little clarity on what all of this meant for myself and other pregnant women. Home birth – a prospect my friend hadn’t at all seriously entertained previously – started to seem like the only option. In Tiers 3 to 4, one person can accompany you to the booking scan, 20-week scan and any emergency appointments to support you. Online antenatal education provided by Queensland Health is now available. Remember that the most important thing right now is that you are doing your best to take care of your baby and keep them safe. It is a small, interactive class, facilitated by a midwife. Please check again later to see if it is free for you. We’ve answered these and other common questions and concerns below. A multidisciplinary team have developed an eLearning Hub, which is located on this site. “I’m sure she didn’t intend to make us feel silly for asking, but that was the tone,” my friend told me. Breastmilk contains special properties to protect your baby from germs, so it’s a great food for them if they are near someone who is unwell. If you do get COVID-19 during your pregnancy, the good news is that at this stage, we don’t think it’s common for pregnant women to pass the virus on to their baby. Your midwife or someone from the hospital will come to your home to visit you after your baby has been born. The changes have already started. Partners and other support people are welcome to attend. Babies with infections do not always develop a fever. Speak to the teacher, hospital or birth centre about what changes there might be, and if the class is cancelled, how you can access this information in a different way. Breastfeeding advice can also be found in Ready Steady Baby.