East Nashville Doulas upholds the highest standards of care for our clients and their families. In the midst of an ever-changing landscape brought on by the emergence of COVID-19 in Tennessee and beyond, I wanted to let you know what our agency is doing to stay informed and to keep our clients and doulas safe.
1. Following CDC & ACOG Guidelines
We are staying up-to-date with the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) and American College of Obstetrics & Gynecologists (ACOG)’s COVID-19 safety guidelines for pregnant people and care providers. You can find them here:
Guidelines issued by the CDC for pregnant people and breast/chestfeeding people
Guidelines to protect yourself and your family
ACOG practice advisory
2. Safety Measures
East Nashville Doulas is monitoring regional guidelines (Tennessee Department of Health info) and hospital policies where our clients are giving birth to ensure that we have the most up-to-date information for our families. Our doulas also continue to follow and share best practices for cold & flu season with our client families and our own families. These safety measures from the CDC include:
Washing hands frequently for at least 20 seconds with soap and water. If soap and water is not available, we will use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
Avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoiding close contact with people who are sick.
Covering mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze (or use the inside of elbow) and dispose of the tissue in the trash immediately. Wash hands immediately afterwards according to the protocol above.
Cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.
Staying home when we are sick (this is when it’s great that we work with a team!).
Staying home for at least 24 hours after a fever is gone (without the use of fever-reducing medicines).
3. Extra precautions
In addition to the above safety measures, we take the following precautions to keep our client families healthy:
Notifying you if anyone in a doula’s family is experiencing cold or flu symptoms so that you can decide if you’d like a backup doula instead.
Washing our hands first thing when we come into your home or birthing space. Continuing to wash hands frequently as needed.
Wearing gloves in the birthing room when possible to avoid skin-to-skin contact.
Washing our clothes in hot water and disinfecting our shoes after a birth.
Cleaning any birth supplies used with disinfectant wipes between births (massage tools, etc.)
Removing our shoes at the entrance of your home when visiting or starting a postpartum shift.
Since there have been confirmed COVID-19 cases in the greater Nashville area, our doulas will add the extra precaution of taking their temperature before attending each birth and postpartum shift, and will report any symptoms to our team.
Of course, we will follow all hospital policies and guidelines in place, and will keep you updated as we get new information. All medical questions should be directed to your care provider.
Know that we are doing all we can to stay healthy & well so that we can support you!
Again, your health and safety is of utmost importance to the East Nashville Doulas team, and we are happy to answer any questions you might have. Feel free to give us a call at: 615-957-5871 or email me at: andrea@eastnashvilledoulas.com