One of New York City’s top hospitals has instituted severe visitor restrictions in a desperate effort to protect inpatients from coronavirus—including banning birth partners for women delivering their babies there. New York-Presbyterian’s new policy takes effect Monday, according to a notice on its website. “At this time, no visitors including birthing partners and support persons are permitted for obstetric patients. We understand that this will be difficult for our patients and their loved ones, but we believe that this is a necessary step to promote the safety of our new mothers and children,” the hospital wrote. As The Daily Beast previously reported, a growing number of pregnant families have been turning to home births to avoid both the virus and draconian restrictions.
