To our patients,
In response to the COVID-19 public health crisis in our community we will be making some changes in our practice to help minimize exposure for our staff and our patients. First, please remember to follow the best practices rules established by the CDC for frequent handwashing with soap and water, use of hand sanitizer, cover your inadvertent sneeze or cough, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. If you are experiencing any cold or flu symptoms, please stay home.
We will be screening our patients prior to appointments and entry into our office. Starting immediately, we will be following these procedures:
- All patients must have a face covering on when entering the office. Patients will check in and return to their vehicle. We will call you when we are ready to bring you into an exam room. Please use our supplied hand sanitizer when entering the office at check in.
- We will be limiting visitors with patients. At this time, only patients can enter the office (no children are allowed to enter the office at this time). Please make arrangements for your children prior to coming to your appointment.
- If you are over the age of 65, please schedule your appointment between the hours of 1:30pm-2:45pm. This time is dedicated just for you and will be right after we close for lunch and are able to disinfect the entire office.
- If you are pregnant and are experiencing any cold or flu symptoms, we want you to stay at home and reschedule your appointment for the following week. If you are having any pregnancy issues that concern you, we will have a provider call you.
During this difficult time, we want to provide a sound strategy to minimize exposure to protect our staff and our patients. We are watching the CDC recommendations daily and will make further changes if needed. We encourage you to do the same at www.cdc.gov. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Questions about Pregnancy and Coronavirus Disease 2019
Pregnant women
A: We do not currently know if pregnant women have a greater chance of getting sick from COVID-19 than the general public nor whether they are more likely to have serious illness as a result. Pregnant women experience changes in their bodies that may increase their risk of some infections. With viruses from the same family as COVID-19, and other viral respiratory infections, such as influenza, women have had a higher risk of developing severe illness. It is always important for pregnant women to protect themselves from illnesses.
Q: How can pregnant women protect themselves from getting COVID-19?
Pregnant women should do the same things as the general public to avoid infection. You can help stop the spread of COVID-19 by taking these actions:
- Cover your cough (using your elbow is a good technique)
- Avoid people who are sick
- Clean your hands often using soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer
You can find additional information on preventing COVID-19 disease at CDC’s (Prevention for 2019 Novel Coronavirus).
Q: Can COVID-19 cause problems for a pregnancy?
A: We do not know at this time if COVID-19 would cause problems during pregnancy or affect the health of the baby after birth.
Transmission during pregnancy or during delivery
Q: Can COVID-19 be passed from a pregnant woman to the fetus or newborn?
A: We still do not know if a pregnant woman with COVID-19 can pass the virus that causes COVID-19 to her fetus or baby during pregnancy or delivery. No infants born to mothers with COVID-19 have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. In these cases, which are a small number, the virus was not found in samples of amniotic fluid or breastmilk.
Infants
Q: If a pregnant woman has COVID-19 during pregnancy, will it hurt the baby?
A: We do not know at this time what if any risk is posed to infants of a pregnant woman who has COVID-19. There have been a small number of reported problems with pregnancy or delivery (e.g. preterm birth) in babies born to mothers who tested positive for COVID-19 during their pregnancy. However, it is not clear that these outcomes were related to maternal infection.
Page last reviewed: March 11, 2020
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