The safety and well-being of the healthcare workers, patients, and communities of California hospitals is our top priority. We have aggregated the following resources about COVID-19 in maternal and infant health to help hospitals and healthcare workers respond to the situation as it unfolds.
The webinars and sample hospital resources shared on this website serve as examples of how individual hospitals in California are preparing their perinatal units to respond to COVID-19. We understand that each hospital is working with a different set of resources and constraints. Some of the recommendations presented may not be directly applicable to your hospital setting. Guidelines should be adapted to fit your local needs.
Last Updated:
Important Updates for CA Hospitals
- As of 10/23/20, the California Department of Public Health reaffirmed its earlier recommendation that one support person be allowed to be present with labor and delivery patients. CDPH also recommends that a doula, if used, be permitted to be present if prior arrangements have been made with the hospital and the doula complies with hospital PPE and infection control guidelines. (CDPH AFL 20-38.5)
- As of 10/23/20, the California Department of Public Health reaffirmed its earlier recommendation that NICU and PICU patients be allowed two designated support persons that may visit at the same time. (CDPH AFL 20-38.5)
CPQCC/ CMQCC Webinars
- Supporting Your Units During COVID-19: A Q&A with Frontline Perinatal Leaders (2/16/21) | Webinar Recording and Additional Questions from the Q&A Box Note: As this was a live Q&A panel discussion, slides are not provided.
- Supporting Your Perinatal Units During COVID-19: Health Equity for California Latinx Communities (9/29/20) | Webinar Recording and Slides (English / Spanish)
- Supporting Your Perinatal Units During COVID-19: Breastfeeding Guidance (9/10/20)| Webinar Recording and Slides | Resources: Parent’s Guide to Shared-Decision Making on Breastfeeding During COVID-19 (English | Spanish)
- Supporting Your Perinatal Units During COVID-19: Evolving Guidance (8/21/20)| Webinar Recording and Slides | Resources: Sutter Health COVID-19 Perinatal Care Management, COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions, OB Screening/Testing Algorithm
*Please Note: Due to the rapidly changing guidelines around COVID-19, older webinar recordings were taken down.
Sample Hospital Resources
The resources below were shared by individual hospitals as examples of their policies during COVID-19. They may not reflect the most up-to-date policies being used by these hospitals but are continually reviewed for accuracy and relevance.
Screening/Testing
- Steps to Evaluating a Patient with Respiratory Symptoms (Zuckerberg San Francisco General, 5/26/20)
- Admission Testing and Management for L&D and Postpartum (UCLA, 4/28/20)
- L&D Asymptomatic Patient Rapid COVID-19 Testing Algorithm (Stanford Health Care, 4/22/20)
- L&D Pre-Procedure COVID-19 Testing Algorithm (Stanford Health Care, 4/22/20)
- How to Obtain a Nasopharyngeal Swab (The New England Journal of Medicine, 4/17/20)
Surgical
- Code C COVID Scenario Storyboard (UC Davis, 5/19/20)
- L&D OR Algorithm (UCLA, 4/28/20)
- L&D Emergency OR Algorithm (UCLA, 4/28/20)
COVID+ or PUI General Care
- Example of a Frequently Updated Policy (CPMC, 8/25/20)
- L&D COVID-19 Patient Care Algorithm (Stanford Health Care, 8/5/20)
- Prone Positioning for Pregnant Women With Hypoxemia Due to Coronavirus Disease 2019, Demonstration Videos Included (Obstetrics & Gynecology, 8/20)
- COVID-19 Coding Decision Tree (Stanford Health Care, 4/14/20)
- Care of Neonates Born to Women with Suspected/Confirmed SARS-CoV-2 (UC Davis Health, 4/10/20)
- Neonatal Respiratory Filter Examples (LAC-USC and Stanford Health Care, 3/25/20)
Organizational Recommendations
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- FAQ for Obstetrician-Gynecologists, Obstetrics (4/7/21)
- Vaccinating Pregnant and Lactating Patients Against COVID-19 (3/24/21)
- Patient FAQ (3/5/21)
- Practice Advisory (12/14/20)
- Outpatient Assessment and Management Algorithm (ACOG/ SMFM, 7/14/20)
- Simulation Guide (4/20/20)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Vaccination of pregnant or lactating people (4/16/21)
- COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Update, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (3/1/21)
- Information on Pregnancy & Breastfeeding (2/26/21)
- Evaluation & Management Considerations for Neonates at Risk of COVID-19 (12/8/20)
- Interim Considerations for Infection Prevention and Control in Inpatient Obstetric Healthcare Settings (12/1/20)
- Characteristics and Maternal and Birth Outcomes of Hospitalized Pregnant Women with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 (9/25/20)
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
- Provider Considerations for Engaging in COVID-19 Vaccine Counseling With Pregnant and Lactating Patients (4/1/21)
- SMFM Management Considerations for Pregnant Patients with COVID-19 (2/2/21)
- SMFM Responds to the FDA’s Decision to Offer the Newly Approved COVID-19 Vaccine to Pregnant and Lactating People (12/11/20)
- SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination in Pregnancy (12/1/20)
- What Maternal-Fetal Medicine Subspecialists Need to Know (11/23/20)
- COVID-19 Ultrasound Practice Suggestions (10/20/20)
- Strategies to Provide Equitable Care During COVID-19 (5/28/20)
Additional Resources
- Visitor Limitations Guidance (including L&D & NICU) (CA Department of Public Health, 3/16/21)
- Guidance for Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women During the COVID-19 Pandemic (California Department of Public Health, 11/4/20)
- Neonatal COVID19 Repository (Dr. K.S.Gautham, Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine, 9/2/20)
- Milk Handling for COVID-19 (Human Milk Banking Association, 4/14/20)
- Interim Guidance for Basic and Advanced Life Support in Adults, Children, and Neonates with COVID-19 (American Heart Association, 4/9/20)
- Doulas and COVID-19 (DONA International, 3/12/20)
Caregiver Support Resources
- Physicians Support Line, Free & Confidential Support for Physicians (4/29/20)
- Code Green, COVID-19 Specific Crisis Resources (4/29/20)
- SAMHSA, Psychological First Aid for First Responders (4/29/20)
- Stress Relief during COVID-19 (California Surgeon General, 4/7/20)
Patient Resources
- UPDATED Vaccination Considerations for People who are Pregnant or Breastfeeding (CDC, 4/28/21)
- Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Information for Women & Families in English and Spanish (SMFM, 4/9/21)
- COVID Vaccine Advice if You Are Pregnant or Breastfeeding (ACNM, AWHONN, NPWH, SMFM, 3/4/21)
- Managing Stress and Coping with COVID-19 (CDC, 1/22/21)
- COVID-19 Mental Health Resources for Families (UCSF, 11/18/20)
- Bonding With Your Baby During the COVID-19 Pandemic (National Network of NICU Psychologists, 5/19/20)
- COVID-19 and Maternity Frequently Asked Questions (CMQCC/CPQCC, 5/19/20)
- COVID-19 and Pregnancy FAQs – Spanish (LA County Health Services, 5/4/20)
- “If Your Doctors Suspect you have COVID-19” English Version / Spanish Version (Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative, 4/28/20)
- COVID-19 Guidance for Women and Families (CDPH, 4/28/20)
- Coronavirus, COVID-19 for New Moms (Fourth Trimester Project, 4/7/20)
- Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak (WHO, 3/18/20)
Key Data Sources for California
Data Registries
- NEW V-Safe Pregnancy (CDC) – COVID-19 Vaccine Pregnancy Registry
- MothertoBaby (Organization of Teratology Information Specialists) – National registry of pregnant women with COVID-19
- PRIORITY: Pregnancy Coronavirus Outcomes Registry (UCSF) – National registry of pregnant women with COVID-19
- National Perinatal COVID-19 (NPC-19) Registry (AAP Section on Neonatal Perinatal Medicine) –National registry of mothers with COVID-19 and their infants
- Neonatal COVID-19 Impact Audit (Vermont Oxford Network) –Data tool to help newborn care teams understand the impact of COVID-19 in their units
About Us
California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative and California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative are quality improvement organizations comprising over 90% of California’s maternity and neonatal intensive care units.
As this is a rapidly evolving public health situation, we encourage you to take into consideration the most recently available local health department and CDC guidance when developing your internal protocols. We have dated all of the links and organized them with the latest news first to support your information gathering. We will be updating this webpage frequently as new information becomes available. All the information on this website is published in good faith and for general information purposes only. From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content of these sites.
For questions or comments about any of the resources shared on this page please email info@CAperinatalprograms.org.