§ 2803-n. Hospital care for maternity patients. 1. When a general
hospital provides maternity care:

(a) Inpatient care for mothers and newborns shall be offered for not
less than forty-eight hours after childbirth for any delivery other than
a caesarean section, and for more than forty-eight hours when medically
necessary. For a caesarean section, inpatient care for mothers and
newborns shall be offered for not less than ninety-six hours after
childbirth, and for more than ninety-six hours when medically necessary.

(b) Maternity care shall also include, at minimum, parent education,
assistance and training in breast or bottle feeding, education on
maternal depression, education on maternal depression screening and
referrals, and the performance of any necessary or appropriate maternal
and newborn clinical assessments and screenings and appropriate
referrals. Notwithstanding this requirement, nothing in this paragraph
is intended to result in the hospital charging any amount for such
services in addition to the applicable charge for the maternity
inpatient hospital admission.

(c) (i) The hospital shall adopt, implement and periodically update
standard protocols for management of obstetric hemorrhage. Such
protocols shall address early recognition and assessment and readiness
to respond in a multidisciplinary manner. Such protocols shall utilize
risk assessment tools such as the toolkit established or identified by
the department under subdivision three of this section and shall include
a response plan providing for the triage and transfer to higher level
facilities if needed.

(ii) The hospital shall maintain and furnish protocols for management
of obstetric hemorrhage required pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this
paragraph to the department, immediately upon request.

2. This section shall not limit the mother's option to be discharged
earlier than the time periods established in subdivision one of this
section.

3. The commissioner shall develop guidance to hospitals on obstetric
hemorrhage protocols, in consultation with clinical experts, and develop
or identify an existing toolkit on obstetric hemorrhage management,
which may include a hemorrhage care checklist for use by hospitals as
part of the protocols and guidance on simulation training. The
commissioner shall post the guidance and toolkit on the department's
website.

4. The hospital shall adopt, implement and periodically update
standard protocols for management of other emergency medical conditions
related to pregnancy for expectant mothers being admitted to the
hospital or presenting to the emergency department, including but not
limited to pre-term labor. Such protocols shall require the hospital to
determine whether an expectant mother is experiencing an emergency
medical condition, and upon making a diagnosis of an emergency medical
condition, admit the expectant mother to the hospital or treat them in
the emergency room for close observation and continuous monitoring until
it is deemed medically safe for discharge or transfer in accordance with
state and federal requirements including the federal Emergency Medical
Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).