“…In maternity care services, 7 contrary to the WHO/ UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative guidance, some of these restrictions included excluding a companion of choice and not allowing family members to visit, separation of mothers and newborns (even where COVID-19 had not been suspected), and discouraging breastfeeding. [8][9][10] In addition, key dimensions of experience of care such as patient participation, provision of emotional support, and attempts to reduce certain interventionist procedures of limited clinical value, were among the first aspects of care to be sidelined during the pandemic. 11 Although emotional support is widely recognized as being important to patient experiences and recovery, 12 many health authorities or facilities did not allow companions of choice or visits from family members, and some facilities routinely separated infants from parents in a, likely ineffective, effort to reduce transmission risk.…”