Clinicians may alter prenatal appointment schedules to minimize the number of times you need to leave home.

Tours, prenatal classes and outpatient lactation support are being offered remotely. As COVID-19 rates decrease in some communities, some small group in-person classes may be available.

These adjustments allow our teams to offer you prenatal education and postnatal support.

Pandemic or not, we follow strict guidelines to keep the hospital clean and safe.

The labor and delivery staff take precautions when caring for patients each day, so these procedures are not new.

Your care team will provide additional information about arriving at the hospital. Be sure to ask them any questions you have about coming to the hospital to deliver your baby.

• You may bring personal items such as sweats/pajamas and your favorite pillow.
• Your support people should also bring in personal items such as medication and toiletries.
• Parents are encouraged to bring in their car seat (leaving the base secured and fastened in the car) upon arrival, so you won’t have to leave the building to retrieve it later.
• You may also want to bring a cooler with any special snacks/foods you’d like to have in your room.

Our teams provide postpartum support through resources including lactation and postpartum classes as well as referrals for breast pump rentals. Some resources may be online.

You and your partner are welcome to spend time with your baby in the NICU.

• All visitors must pass symptom screening and follow all masking and other infection control measures.
• Masks are recommended in the NICU.
• If you or your partner have any symptoms or are feeling ill, please call the NICU ahead of time to ask if you’re able to come to the NICU.

According to the CDC, evidence about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy has been growing. Current data suggest that the benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination.

According to the CDC, while the overall risk of severe illness from COVID-19 is low, pregnant people with COVID-19 have an increased risk of severe illness. This includes illness that results in ICU admission, mechanical ventilation and death compared with nonpregnant women of reproductive age. Additionally, pregnant people with COVID-19 might be at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth, compared with pregnant women without COVID-19.

CDC guidance strongly recommends that all people 5 years and older get vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19, including people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now or who might become pregnant in the future. COVID-19 vaccines are unlikely to pose a risk to a person trying to become pregnant in the short or long term. In addition, there’s no evidence suggesting that fertility problems are a side effect of any vaccine, including COVID-19 vaccines.

None of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines contain the live virus. This means the vaccines cannot make you sick with COVID-19.

Vaccines are designed to stimulate the human body’s own protective immune response, so if a person is infected, their immune system can recognize the infection and react to it. According to the CDC, COVID-19 vaccines are effective at helping to protect against COVID-19 disease, and significantly reduce the likelihood of hospitalization and death for those who are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations, including boosters. Although the vaccines are highly effective, some people who are fully vaccinated will get COVID-19, known as a breakthrough infection. Fully vaccinated people with a vaccine breakthrough infection can be contagious but are less likely to develop serious illness than those who are unvaccinated and get COVID-19.