Coronavirus testing remains scattershot and can take days in some places, so some parents might endure a temporary separation without even testing positive for the virus, irin writes
LaToya Jordan. Photo: Courtesy of LaToya Jordan Everything shifted when LaToya Jordan said she had a lingering cough. At 38 weeks pregnant, sudden and uncontrollable vomiting brought Jordan from her Brooklyn apartment to Long Island’s NYU Winthrop Hospital on Sunday night, March 29. She was doubled over in pain. Jordan, 45, didn’t have a fever, but the cough was enough for the staff to abruptly separate her from her husband so she could be tested for the coronavirus.
“I get that everyone is overwhelmed, but I didn’t feel like a patient. I felt like I was a damn near criminal,” said Jordan, who has her own organizational and leadership consulting practice. “It felt so inhumane.” Jordan was desperate to get out of the ward, where she said nurses were afraid to come help the two recovering women, even though her roommate struggled to even use the bathroom.
Like a growing number of hospitals, NYU has prided itself on its World Health Organization- and UNICEF-granted “baby-friendly” label, which relies on physical closeness with the birthing parent and the primacy of breastfeeding. Not coincidentally, the WHO says that the harm from separation outweighs the risk of COVID-19, and recommends direct breastfeeding with a mask. “Initially, we thought there was no evidence of babies getting really sick,” Keefe said.
But as fast as Gaw and her colleagues can work, babies aren’t waiting to be born. “Here at UCSF, if you test positive, we recommend separation for 14 days. And if your test is still pending, you’re in the same category,” said Gaw. “Those recommendations are very conservative. We would rather be safe than sorry. Which is unfortunate for all the women going through it right now.” As for the costs to families of separating, Gaw said, “That’s been pushed to the wayside in a crisis.
Photo: Courtesy of LaToya Jordan As word began trickling out about the separation policies in recent weeks, the contingent of the pregnancy and birth community that is already deeply skeptical of hospitals’ treatment of laboring patients — including people who work in them — has reacted with alarm. “The bottom line from the CDC is there is risk of infection to the newborn,” Dr. Tina Yarrington, the director of labor and delivery at Boston Medical Center, told me. “From an infection-prevention perspective, separation of mom and baby is safest. The language is appropriately nuanced because not every hospital may have the physical space to room the baby separately.” Her hospital is separating sick mothers from babies. “We get results back in 24 to 48 hours,” she said.
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