Giving Birth at Duke? What We’re Doing to Keep You Safe During COVID-19

Daily measures to protect you and your baby before, during, and after delivery, along with immediate access to emergency obstetrical care, make the hospital an ideal space for you to have your baby. We’ve always prioritized the safety of moms, and that effort doesn’t change. We work to make delivery a special time for moms, and one they’ll remember.

We understand you may have questions and concerns about your upcoming delivery. We hope we’ve answered them below.

Duke created extra safety precautions throughout its hospitals and birthing centers to minimize the spread of the virus and to ensure your safety while you are in the hospital. These measures include:

• Enhanced cleaning of spaces and surfaces
• Health screenings of all patients, visitors, and employees
• Required masking in all shared spaces, including hallways
• Physical distancing to minimize the number of people in one location, including your private room

Laboring mothers may designate two support people, which could include a doula. After birth, you may designate one support person for the entire length of your stay in the hospital, whether or not you're COVID-positive.

Every person is screened before they enter the hospital. If they have symptoms -- fever, cough, or shortness of breath -- or test positive without symptoms, they will not be allowed to enter the facility.  It may be a good idea to have a backup person just in case as  we strongly believe that a support person improves outcomes, and we encourage all our moms to have someone with them at their bedside.

You can use our free Wi-Fi connection to introduce your baby to your family using your mobile device and a video messaging platform like FaceTime or Zoom.

If you’re COVID-positive, you can give birth safely in a private room and keep your newborn in your room with you. You can also allow your baby to stay in a newborn nursery and be cared for by doctors and nurses. Your healthy support person can visit with your baby. If you have COVID-19, you’ll have to stay in your room. Your doctors, nurses, and other attendants will wear masks and other protective clothing as they care for you.

To date, there’s no evidence that babies contract COVID-19 from their mothers during birth.  If you choose to keep your baby in your room, Dr. Elizabeth Livingston, MD, a perinatologist at Duke, said your care team will guide you on best practices including: 

• How to keep your sleeping baby in a bassinet six feet from your bed
• Learning to practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands and using hand sanitizer
• Why it's important to wear a mask and keep your hands clean when holding or breastfeeding your baby

"Our hospitals remain safe, and our delivery teams are committed to making moms feel important at every step," Livingston said. "Whether it's our obstetrics-dedicated anesthesia team, on-call specialists, or our amazing group of nurses, we are prepared to keep moms and babies safe and healthy."

The COVID-19 virus has not been found in breast milk. If you choose to breastfeed, our lactation consultants will help you safely breastfeed or pump milk for your baby even if you’ve been diagnosed with COVID-19.