Now that the measures around Coronavirus are being expanded across the country, we at Vida Midwifery are doing this as well. We are happy to share this with you! The past several weeks you have missed being able to take your partner with you to appointments, such as the ultrasound, and you had to find arrangements for your toddlers when you came for your check-ups. We want to thank you again for your understanding, support and commitment!
We must of course continue to work together to follow the general guidelines and we ask for your continued commitment in this. We will follow the recommendations of our professional midwifery organization (the KNOV) and the RIVM.
We will not shake any hands, we will continue to keep 1,5m distance when possible, we will wash our hands frequently, and will limit the number of people that we see when possible. Of course if you have any symptoms you are asked to stay home, even with mild symptoms of a cold.
For our midwifery care, the expansion of the measures means the following:
Prenatal appointments
The prenatal appointments that are already scheduled will remain as planned. Staring on the 11th of May we will start planning appointments according to the “old” visit schedule. If you have a telephone intake planned in the next few weeks and you would rather come to the practice for an in-person intake, then you are more than welcome! Please call the assistant to ask which location you need to come to for your intake and so that the midwife knows to expect you in-person rather than to have to call you.
We continue to prefer that you come to your appointments alone. We however also understand that for certain appointments it is important to be able to take your partner with you. Please use your own judgment as to when you want to bring your partner with you to the appointment. We are not providing any guidelines on this, but ask for your understanding to come alone as much as possible to limit the number of social contacts our midwives and sonographers are exposed to. If your partner comes then they must wait outside of the practice and when you are called from the waiting room you can call your partner to come join you. This is to avoid that the waiting room gets too busy. Furthermore: partners should keep 1,5m distance from our midwives and sonographers.
Please leave children at home as much as possible. If this is not possible for a given appointment, then you may bring your children with you. We understand that it can sometimes be difficult to arrange childcare.
The birth
At the birth it is now possible to have your partner and one additional person with you, both for a home birth as well as for a birth in the hospital. It is still unclear if an extra person will be accepted in all hospitals. If we have any updates on this we will let you know at your appointment.
The postpartum visits
We would like to resume doing home-visits in the postpartum week after the birth. We will keep 1,5m distance when possible and will wash our hands upon arrival and prior to departure. For any medical checks we need to do we will wear gloves.
Ultrasound-on-request possible starting May 13!
Our professional organization has also lifted the restrictions on non-medical ultrasounds. This means that you are now able to book extra ultrasounds on our website. For more information on the possibilities please visit the website: https://verloskundigenvida.nl/pretechos/
If you would rather have an appointment by telephone and we agree that an in-person visit is not medically essential, then this is of course okay and helps to keep us and you healthy! Ask about the possibilities when planning your appointment.
We have said it before, we are looking forward to working with you to make your pregnancy, delivery and postpartum period a beautiful experience and hope that these changes will contribute to that!
