08/15/2020
As a member of the local birth professional community here in Charlotte, I am deeply concerned about the impact this policy is having on birthing families. The move to require all doulas to become fully compliant as hospital vendors, strips us of our ability to remain independent and impartial for the clients who hire us. This policy is needlessly restricting access and freedom of choice for Novant’s patients to pick their preferred doula with the experience best suited to their respective needs, rather than being limited to the handful of doulas on the “approved” list.
While we are being told by Novant Health that these measures are needed to keep their patients/employees safe during COVID-19, this is categorically untrue. Zero of the vendor requirements have anything to do with coronavirus safety. Doulas were allowed in Novant facilities without any of the vendor requirements as recently as March. The only thing that has changed is the threat of COVID-19, so why impose an extensive list of non-COVID-related requirements if this is about protecting staff and patients against COVID? In fact, if a birthing person chooses to make the extremely difficult decision of asking their partner to stay home in favor of having professional support, any doula is free to enter the hospital without first becoming a vendor—they just have to pass a COVID screening upon entry. Doulas are carefully screened and hired by their clients. It is unethical for a hospital system to step in under the guise of “pandemic safety” and place regulatory controls such as background checks, vaccine history, educational history, and fees on their patients’ support person of choice.
If you are local, please consider contacting Novant about how these restrictions have a negative impact for families.
