Will H1N1 effect the hospital waiting room?

As if being concerned about contracting H1N1, whether or not to get vaccinated and how to protect your baby wasn't enough - now you need to worry about the hospital visitation policies! Yes, many hospitals and some birth centers have begun to alter their visitation policies for laboring moms and the postpartum units.

These policy changes will vary widely from hospital to hospital. The vast majority of neonatal intensive care units (NICU) have cut way down on visitation. Some hospitals have said no one under 17, including siblings. Some hospitals have changed the number of people who can be in your labor room, including some cutting visitation in labor drastically to only one person! This might be a reason to tell people to avoid the waiting room and wait for the good news at home.

If you are planning a hospital birth, it is important to call your place of birth and figure out what, if any, changes have been made. When you call, you should also find out what the system is to alert people to future changes. They may have an email system or will let you know where it will be posted on their website. It is much easier to figure out how to deal with the changes prior to labor and prior to explaining to your 5 year son why he can't go see his new sister as he'd been promised for the last nine months.

Some predict that these policy changes will increase the number of home births, both with certified professional midwives (CPMs), direct entry midwives (DEMs) and unassisted births. The problem is that it will be difficult to tell whether these numbers rise, simple because of poor tracking in place. To echo what some of the moms and midwives have said on Twitter, it'd be great if they could get coverage to have midwifery care universally.

How is H1N1 (swine flu) alerting your plans for giving birth?

Related:

• H1N1 & Pregnancy
• Hospital Interviews
• Is there a right time to leave the hospital after a baby?