In this ever-changing world due to COVID-19, we know your patients have specific needs and concerns. Below are key resources that you can utilize to care for your pregnant and postpartum patients, especially at this critical time.
- UNC Health Specific COVID-19 Resources
- UNC Health Inpatient Visitor Restrictions (updated September 21, 2020)
- Adult inpatients will be allowed 1 visitor during the day (9 a.m. – 9 p.m.) and 1 visitor at night (9 p.m. – 9 a.m.)
- COVID-19 positive patients will continue to have no visitors (except for laboring women, who may be allowed to have the birthing partner at bedside).
- Laboring mothers may designate two support people, which could include a doula. After birth, patients may designate one support person for the entire length of stay in the hospital. Visiting hours do not apply to these visitors
- Click HERE for the most updated version of the document “Having Your Baby During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Questions You May Have”
- Click HERE to go to the main UNC Health page for more information.
- Click HERE for the Spanish version of the Visitor Policy.
- Reassuring patients and families: Having Your Baby at UNC Women’s Hospital During COVID19 is a reassuring flyer that can be used to decrease some of their anxiety, direct patients to more specific information, and connect them to resources in the Women’s Health Education Center. Click HERE (revised September 24, 2020)
- Informing UNC of prenatal patients who have tested positive for COVID-19: In order to streamline communication and care for COVID-19 positive prenatal patients, UNC OBGYN has developed a pathway for your clinic to notify UNC. CLICK HERE
- Asymptomatic testing on Labor and Delivery:This document is to support providers as they inform their prenatal patients about testing at UNC L&D for asymptomatic patients who will be admitted to NC Women’s Hospital CLICK HERE
- Genetic Counseling COVID-19 Specific Guidelines: Scheduling guidelines for genetic counseling have been revised. CLICK HERE
- Virtual Classes and Maternity Tours of NC Women’s Hospital in Spanish: Patient flyer in Spanish Click HERE
- NCDHHS’ Prevent and Protect Media Toolkit is a resource to communicate about the cloth coverings state requirement. Please share these materials widely through your own communications channels and with your partners.
- CDC: Considerations for Inpatient Ob Setting
- CDC: Characteristics of Women of Reproductive Age with Laboratory-Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 Infection by Pregnancy Status — United States, January 22–June 7, 2020
- Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC)
- Important COVID-19 information for NC practices, including a CCNC COVID-19 triage line, coding suggestions for healthcare providers serving Medicaid beneficiaries, telehealth guidance, and obtaining PPE for your practice.
- Key resources, including clinical guidance on management of conditions related to pregnancy and OB guidance documents.
- Perinatal Telehealth Billing Scenarios document by Mediciad
- Found under the COVID-19 Telehealth link.
- There you will also find a Billing Code Summary table
- North Carolina-Psychiatry Access Line NC-PAL or the NC Psychiatry Access Line, is a telephone consultation program designed to assist primary care providers in addressing the behavioral health needs of pediatric, pregnant, and post-partum patients.
- Who can call? NC-PAL is open to all healthcare providers who work in obstetric, pediatric, family medicine, and psychiatric clinics that serve pediatric, pregnant, and post-partum patients.
- Email for non-clinical questions: Pediatric: ncpal@duke.edu Perinatal: ncpal@unc.edu
- Phone: (919) 681-2909 Pediatric –select extension 1 Perinatal –select extension 2
- Provider-to-Provider Consult Hours: Monday –Friday 8AM-5PM
- Post-Birth Warning Signs
The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) has developed a post-birth warning signs education program for healthcare providers. It is critical for postpartum patients to know these warning signs, especially when access to healthcare services might be challenging due to COVID-19.- Online training for professionals
- Free patient education handouts
- Home Blood Pressure Monitoring
NC Medicaid has recently approved coverage of blood pressure cuffs. Medical providers now have the ability to prescribe cuffs.
Click HERE for more information.
Pregnant and postpartum patients can be encouraged to monitor their blood pressure at home with the aid of the following patient education materials:
- Breastfeeding and COVID-19
- Masks and Children During COVID-19
The CDC now recommends people over age two wear cloth face masks when outside their homes. It is important to note that face coverings should NOT be placed on young children under the age of two because of the risk of suffocation.
NewMomHealth.com has a wealth of resources to support postpartum mothers as they navigate the challenges of caring for themselves and their new baby during the Coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak. Please share this resource widely with your patients.
Click HERE for the link of COVID-19 specific resources for new mothers to utilize.
For more clinical resources, we suggest that you refer to AWHONN’s comprehensive list. Click HERE and then click the “Resources” tab on the body of the page to the right.
- Car Seat Guidance is Currently NOT Available at NC Fire Departments
- All permanent checking stations for car seat checks and installation assistance (aka fire stations) are not taking appointments until further notice.
- In lieu of this, Safe Kids Worldwide has developed resources to help us do car seat safety consultations remotely and with video conferencing in order to help show parents how to install the car seat. For more information about these remote resources, click HERE and scroll down to “Other” for this information.
- Please inform your families of this change so they will not present to the fire department during this time of social distancing.
- Here at UNC, we are actively working on supporting families when they deliver and can connect them to a trained specialist while they are in the hospital.
- Car seat safety resource for UNC care managers and other care team members: Please contact Lindsay Bailey at Lindsay.bailey@unchealth.unc.edu or by phone at 984-974-2437.
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