PRESS ADVISORY: New Resource for Pregnant Families During COVID-19

Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia (HMHBGA) has published, Navigating COVID-19 Resources for Pregnant and Postpartum Families in collaboration with a broad and diverse group of maternal health organizations.

This resource is meant to provide families with guidance on how to plan for pregnancy, labor, and the postpartum period during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

The report will be translated into Spanish and made available in the coming weeks.

"Due to the current public health emergency, navigating our health system may be difficult at this time," shared HMHBGA Executive Director, Elise Blasingame. "We hope this resource will answer the many questions Georgia families are asking right now about their pregnancy, delivery and postpartum plans."

Resources within the toolkit include how to prepare for delivery, postpartum & infant health information, and how to apply for public benefits.

"We have heard from families and advocates that there are a number of critical issues facing Georgians right now around prenatal care, delivery and postpartum care," explained HMHBGA Research & Policy Analyst, Amber Mack.

Current concerns include, but are not limited to:

• Fathers being banned from the labor & delivery room
• Doulas being banned from the labor & deliver room
• Coersion by providers who are trying to get women to allow for c-section when it is not medically necessary, but will get the labor over with faster so they can serve more patients
• Postpartum women potentially delaying care out of fear of risk of exposure (this is troubling given our maternal mortality/morbidity issue in the postpartum period)
• New moms and babies being released from the hospital early
• Providers and patients both delaying prenatal care visits
• Pediatricians and obstetricians canceling or limiting appointments
• Issues related to isolation and perinatal anxiety and depression

Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia (HMHBGA) would like to recognize the following partner organizations for their contributions to this toolkit. Their expertise, time, and dedication to ensuring families are connected to the resources they need during the COVID-19 crisis furthers our mission of improving maternal and infant health through advocacy, education, and access to vital resources:

• A Better Balance
• Atlanta Birth Project
• Bellies to Babies Foundation
• Center for Black Women’s Wellness
• Center for Reproductive Rights
• Emory University
• Feminist Women’s Health Center
• Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students
• Georgia OBGyn Society
• Georgians for a Healthy Future
• Majaica, LLC
• March of Dimes Georgia
• Morehouse School of Medicine
• Nurse-Midwives of Georgia
• SisterSong
• Twin Mommy, LLC
• Voices for Georgia’s Children