Prepare for Delivery at Aspen Valley Hospital During COVID-19

How do I prepare to deliver my baby at Aspen Valley Hospital?

• Be diligent in social distancing to keep yourself free from exposure to infection.

• One healthy adult will be allowed with you in the Aspen Birth Center.

• That one healthy adult will need to stay with you in your room.

• No visitors will be allowed to visit.

Phone and video calls are welcomed and encouraged.

• Photography services will not be allowed, so please bring your personal camera for your baby’s first photos.

What should I do if I have confirmed COVID-19, or suspected COVID-19, and I am in labor?

• If you are in labor and you have a fever, a cold, flu symptoms, confirmed COVID-19 or suspected COVID-19, call your Doctor or Certified Nurse Midwife before you go to the hospital. They will be prepared to take proper infection control precautions to protect your baby and other people from getting the infection.

• Further restrictions are likely needed and your significant other will be required to also wear a mask and not leave your room on entry to the hospital.

• Providers, staff and your support person will wear personal protective equipment (PPE), including gown, gloves, face mask and eye protection to limit the spread of the virus.

• Proper infection control precautions include restricting you to your room in order to protect others.

If I have confirmed COVID-19, or suspected COVID-19, how do I protect my baby after birth?

• Your providers will talk with you about the AAP, and CDC recommendations, and the safest course of action to protect you and your baby until the risk of spreading infection is over. The primary concern is preventing an infected mother transmitting the virus through respiratory droplets while caring for your newborn baby.

• Possible actions include:

• Designating a healthy caregiver to provide care to your newborn (diapering, feeding, skin to skin).

• CDC recommends that medical facilities consider having moms with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 stay in a separate room from their new baby after birth, until the risk of spreading the infection is over. We understand the sensitivity around this recommendation and will thoughtfully discuss this with you.

Take all possible precautions to avoid spreading the virus to your baby, including washing your hands before touching your baby and wearing a face mask.

What should I do if I have confirmed COVID-19, or suspected COVID-19, and plan to breastfeed?

In addition to the items noted previously:

• Continue to plan to feed your baby based on their hunger and feeding cues. You will likely be separated from your baby.

• If you are temporarily separated from your newborn and you want to breastfeed, your providers can help you use a breast pump to express your breast milk. Wash your hands thoroughly and wear a face mask before and during using the pump. A healthy caregiver can feed the breast milk to your baby.

• If expressing breast milk with a manual or electric breast pump, you will wash your hands before touching pump or bottle parts and follow recommendations for proper pump cleaning after each use.

• If you are allowed to breastfeed, prior to each breastfeeding session, you will need to put on a face mask, wash your hands, and then put your baby to breast.

• After feeding, place your baby with a healthy caregiver or in the crib, keeping your baby greater than six feet away from you.