Coronavirus (COVID-19): What COVID-19 Means For Postpartum Care Work
Whilst I am not a medical professional and cannot give advice, as a doula I am experienced at being able to find up-to-date and evidence-based information to help with decision-making processes.
Please be aware that the situation is different in every country and changing rapidly. Please get the most up to date information from the World Health Organisation or your Government’s Department of Health in order to understand the risk, bans and advice for your local area.
If you are unsure about the impacts on your work in your local area please call your local member for parliament and ask them directly.
This article is intended only as a guide to finding accurate information that will help you make the best decision for you and your community. This article does not contain any advice, you are responsible for your own decision making.
If your government has already enforced strict quarantine or social distancing guidelines, event or travel bans you must comply.
If you need some guidance on the grey areas, then you can consider your options below.
What Is Social Distancing?
Social distancing is essential during a pandemic, it will save lives and must be started sooner rather than later. This article explains why it is far better to overreact now than pay the price later.
Read more about why we must act now here.
But we also must consider isolation and loneliness. Resilient and caring communities are more important than ever in times like these, so before you cancel absolutely everything in your life here are a few more detailed considerations.
Loneliness can kill. Just like hunger and thirst, loneliness is a message from our bodies telling us we need something that is critical to our health. A healthy person would never feel ashamed of being hungry or thirsty, and we should also not feel ashamed of being lonely. If you are lonely, act on that urge and seek connection and community in safe ways.
We must act together to lessen the impact of a pandemic of loneliness that is coming too.
Please Keep Buying And Selling Whenever Possible
There has never been a better case for introducing Universal Basic Income, but sadly I don’t think we can count on world leaders for that right now. So instead we must keep as many people in work as we possibly can. Which means we all must keep buying and selling if we can.
Like many people, I felt instantly anxious about what this recession (and possibly even depression) would mean for my business, and the hundreds of doulas in my community whose income has dried up overnight.
So, inspired by Denise Duffield-Thomas, I decided to GIVE first.
I will make an effort to keep buying from small businesses over the coming months especially in industries like hospitality, arts and recreation - whenever I can do this safely. I ask you to do the same if you can.
I will also make every effort to keep selling, unapologetically. This is not a selfish decision, this is because three women (and their families) rely on my business income on a weekly basis, and we pay countless other contractors throughout the year. I am determined to keep them all in work throughout this crisis, and I am proud of this.
So before you cancel everything, please consider creative and innovative ways of continuing to sell and buy, and serve new families during this tumultuous and uncertain time.
Women will still have babies, and still need doula services, no matter what else is going on in the world right now. And we must continue to find ways of supporting them, if we can.
Your Health And Your Clients Health
If you or people you live with are vulnerable to COVID-19 you may consider this in your risk assessment and decision-making process.
If your client or the people they live with are especially vulnerable to COVID-19 you must also consider this in your risk assessment and decision-making process. If you plan to continue seeing your clients face-to-face then please practise social-distancing, hand hygiene and ask your clients right before you meet if they have any flu-like symptoms.
Do not see anyone face-to-face if you or they have flu-like symptoms.
It’s ok to say no or move your work online if you are not comfortable with the risk. There is no such thing as over reacting, just choosing what is right for you.
Doula Work Including Home Visits And Hospital Visits
As postpartum doulas, we rarely need to visit a client in the hospital. Given the extra risk of both contracting COVID-19 and spreading it to vulnerable populations, it may be wise to avoid hospital visits if you can and visit clients when they get home instead.
However, birth doulas are needed in hospitals and may be considered health care providers, not visitors, if there are restrictions on hospital visitors in place.
According to the World Health Organisation, there is limited data on the impacts COVID-19 during pregnancy or postpartum, however, there is currently no evidence that pregnant women or new mothers present with different signs or symptoms or are at higher risk of severe illness. The advice from the World Health Organisation includes:
“Pregnant women with suspected, probable, or confirmed COVID-19, including women who may need to spend time in isolation, should have access to woman-centred, respectful skilled care, including obstetric, fetal medicine and neonatal care, as well as mental health and psychosocial support, with readiness to care for maternal and neonatal complications.”
and
“Breastfeeding counselling, basic psychosocial support, and practical feeding support should be provided to all pregnant women and mothers with infants and young children, whether they or their infants and young children have suspected or confirmed COVID-19.”
Read sections 10 and 11 here for more details.
This statement from the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses recommends doulas be considered part of the essential maternity care team.
“Doulas are not visitors and should not be blocked from caring for patients in the antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum period. Most doulas have been contracted by patients weeks to months ahead of time and have established provider relationships. They are recognized by AWHONN and ACOG as essential personnel and part of the maternity care team,”
This Doula Network of Australia are also opposed to the exclusion and restriction of doulas from healthcare services during infectious disease outbreaks, including that of COVID-19. Read the Doula Network of Australia COVID-19 position statement here.
This is an excellent resources created by Safe Work to guide in how to work safely in people’s homes.
Small Events Including Mother’s Groups
Please always take the latest advice from your government's Department of Health. Some countries are in complete lock-down, others are taking more precautionary measures and some are as yet unaffected. The situation is changing every day.
Feeling anxious is a perfectly legitimate health reason for cancelling a face-to-face event. You need to make the right decision for you and your family and you do not need to justify that to anyone else.
You may also decide to cancel even if your government does not require it as an act of community leadership.
If you are unsure here is some information that may help you decide.
How strict event closures need to really depend on how quickly leaders in your country take action.
If governments act sooner (rather than later) then you may be able to keep gathering in small groups, like mother's groups. Many of the countries that were affected by SARS have been better prepared for COVID-19 and have responded very quickly, including Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. As a result, they managed to contain the virus much more effectively, and don’t currently need to go into complete lockdown. If you live somewhere that has acted quickly and introduced social distancing guidelines as a precaution, then with social distancing measures small mothers groups may be able to continue meeting in this scenario.
If your government has not advised cancelling small gatherings and are confident you can safely go ahead, then there are some simple precautions you can take from risk-informed decision-making for mass gatherings during COVID-19 global outbreak. For example:
Ask people to stay home if they are unwell.
Set up hand washing stations (soap and water are more effective than hand sanitiser if possible.)
Discourage handshaking and hugging.
Ask people to bring their own food and drinks, do not share food or drinks.
Meet in a larger venue to allow for greater social distancing or meet outdoors.
Please read the guide to decide what is the best decision for your unique situation.
However, if your government acts too late the lockdown will need to be much more severe possibly including closing shops, businesses, restaurants and more. In this case, you will need to listen to your government and you may need to stay home completely. This is what is happening in Italy, and is likely to happen in many other countries very soon too.
Online events can be a great creative alternative to meeting in person and a very effective way of building community and overcoming loneliness and boredom.
In my next blog post, I will provide you with a bunch of free lessons and resources for running events, including mothers groups, online.
Meal Delivery Services
As long as restaurants and cafes remain open for takeaway, you can continue your meal delivery service.
The good news about food-safety and coronavirus: it’s the same advice we’ve known all along:
Wash your hands
Wash your produce
Keep your kitchen clean
Cook food to the proper temperature
Be responsible - do not prepare food for other people if you are sick.
Hand Washing And Social Distancing Are Acts Of Love
I know these changes and sacrifices can feel scary and overwhelming, but consider this a huge act of collective solidarity. We are making these changes in our lives to protect our most vulnerable people, and to give our medical staff and hospitals the best chance of caring for our community.
“And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.”
“And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.”
“And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.”
-Kitty O’Meara
Learn More About Working As A Doula >>> Pricing During The Pandemic and Working Online As A Doula During The Pandemic.
