Birth

As you may recall from my previous blog posts I was due to have a baby in April 2020. Three weeks before my due date Boris Johnson declared a Lockdown on the UK and I felt my whole world come crashing down.

What a time to be having a baby when the whole world is in turmoil. People are dying. There is no indication of when it will end and people are no longer allowed near people.

Safe to say I was scared, super scared

We are no longer allowed to see people who don’t live in our household. I see my parents every day pretty much- this is going to be hard! We are allowed out once a day for exercise for up to one out, for medical appointments and emergencies and as needed for food shops but as infrequently as possible. Life is no longer what we knew it to be.

The toughest decision yet

The health officials announced who are the more high risk categories and the over 70’s with underlying health conditions was in it. My dad is 75 with a whole host of medical issues. So what was I going to do now? My son was suppose to stay with them when I’m in labour, but now will I be exposing them to risk in doing so?!

The decision was out of my hands

It turns out all the worrying about that was taken out of my hands when one week before my due date I got preclampsia and was told I needed to visit the hospital for testing. I shed a lot of tears as my partner was away from home as a HGV driver and I had no choice but to leave my son with my elderly parents to attend the hospital.

The tears I cried didn’t help my medical issue. Would I see him again later that day? Would I be exposing my parents or even my son? Little did I know it would be 4 days before I saw my son again as I stayed in hospital. We made the decision that my partner wouldn’t pick him up until I was home with baby as didn’t want him in and out of my parents house. If he was there he was staying in doors hopefully out of harms way.

The hospital experience

I worked myself up into such a frenzy about how the hospital would be while this pandemic was going on, often having sleepless nights about it. Would my partner be allowed in? Would the PPE scare me? Would my experience be less personal than when I had P?

Well my worries were soon put to bed, as all staff were wearing PPE. They all had face masks on, and most of them were wearing protective gloves, Similar to those available on Unigloves Official Website or somewhere similar. Even Though I was in a lot of pain, I imagine the experience would of been more uncomfortable for them wearing all that PPE. Never the less my experience was still super personal, my midwife was amazing and I totally forgot about the world outside of my little room.

For anyone due to give birth during these unusual times just please remember this. What ever choice you make for your family is okay! The hospital experience is fine and the midwifes are lovely and the maternity wards are low risk areas of the hospital away from the Covid wards. I wish someone had passed on this information before my labour so I would feel more at ease so please take something from this and do not worry.

My daughter was born happy and healthy and we are now 11 days out of hospital and doing great and so far so signs of any virus symptoms have made there way home with us. I believe that’s due to the amazing midwifes and the processes in place and also excellent hygiene on our side.

If you are due a baby during this time and need someone to talk to please feel free to contact me. I’m happy to help.

Stay home, stay safe , stay healthy

TTFN T xxx