March 16, 2020
Our mission at The Doula Guild is support in motherhood during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. It is our privilege to come alongside women and families during this life-changing and intimate time. Because of the nature of our work, we know the importance of staying current with the COVID-19 situation. We have drafted a response to concerns about continued care going forward. We’ve also included local hospital visitor policies that we will keep up to date.
We are taking measures to ensure optimum client care as well as following current CDC recommendations. We are still accepting clients at this time and are supporting in-hospital, birth center, and homebirths in Northern Virginia and surrounding areas. We will be making every effort to follow CDC guidelines related to minimizing the spread of this virus. Until April 30th, we will do consults, prenatal, and postpartum visits over the phone.
We are committed to supporting our clients as well as doing our part to take this outbreak seriously. Please reach out with any questions about this or about what our support can look like for you during your pregnancy, labor, and birth. If you’re unsure of doula support during the current climate, we suggest reading the statement from the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics, and Neonatal Nurses. They encourage hospitals to recognize doulas as highly valued members of a birth team. Find the statement here, under updates: AWHONN position on doulas.
Below we have linked to local hospital visitor policies in relation to doula support. We include this information to be of benefit to you as you navigate building your birth team. Reminder, that these are temporary restrictions and will be continually updated as time goes on.
*Hospital Visitor Policies:
All Inova Hospitals including The Birthing Inn at Inova Loudoun and Natural Birth Center, Inova Alexandria Hospital Labor and Delivery, Inova Fair Oaks Labor and Delivery, Inova Fairfax Women’s Hospital
Winchester Medical Center Labor and Delivery
George Washington University Hospital