Birthing Alone: An Ethical Analysis of Pandemic Policies Banning Birthing Partners

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, several hospitals implemented “birthing alone” policies, banning companions (e.g., partners, family members, doulas) from accompanying individuals giving birth. We offer an ethical analysis of these policies. First, we examine them through a consequentialist framework of risks and benefits. Second, we consider the significance of birth, highlighting the unique ways in which risks, relationships, and rights are understood in the context of obstetrics. We conclude that birthing alone policies are largely unjustified, as the harm they are certain to cause outweighs their possible benefits and because they fail to take into account what matters to mothers.