Family Health and Birth Center

Birth Service changes due to COVID-19 as of July 29, 2020: 

Centering Prenatal Care: We have restarted Centering Pregnancy virtually using Zoom and plan to have these visits alternate with your individual in person visits. Please look for a call from the Group Care Coordinator for dates and further information. 

Families birthing at the Family Health and Birth Center: Community of Hope (COH) encourages all of our patients to wear masks in public, even if you are feeling well. Wearing masks inside the clinic and birth center is required, and all family members and support teams attending births must wear a mask for the duration of their stay. Your partner or support person are welcome at the birth center during your birth. Additionally, to your partner or personal support person, your doula may also attend your birth center birth. All support people will be required to wear a mask while inside birthing center. At this time COH midwives are not requiring laboring patients to wear a mask.

When you call us because you are in labor, you will be asked about your health, as well as the health of any potential visitors. When a birthing family/team arrives at the Birth Center, all individuals will be asked a series of screening questions. Temperatures of all family/team members will also be taken. If ANY member of the birthing person’s support team, including partner, has a fever or any COVID related symptoms, they will not be permitted to stay at the birth center with the birthing person. Once cleared for entry, COH asks that for everyone’s safety, that all accompanying persons stay in the birthing room. We are not able to open the common area with the exception of coming out for food or drink. In order to minimize exposure to patients and staff, uncomplicated labors and deliveries will aim to discharge from the birth center at ~4 hours postpartum.

Home Visits: We are not currently able to provide home visits to our families. Instead, we will ask the birthing person with infant and their support person to come to the COH clinic for evaluation on the day that they would otherwise be due for their in- home visit. All routine newborn screenings will be completed at this visit (metabolic screen, hearing screen, critical congenital heart disease).

Learn more about our COVID-19 protocols here.