Pregnancy During A Pandemic

For a lot of us, it didn’t occur that when we saw those two lines on a pregnancy test, we’d end up being pregnant and having a baby in the middle of a pandemic.

We imagined those nine months to be full of days spent shopping for baby things, lunch dates and evening dinners with friends, and forever trying to fight off family touching your bump - basically doing what every other pregnant person did. Even if it wasn’t something we thought we’d enjoy (and like me, didn’t!), I still thought everyone around me would be experiencing this special time alongside us too.

And then the pandemic hit.

We attended hospital appointments and scans alone, with nobody to get excited with, help made decisions, hold our hand when we needed it most, and had the support for those who sadly grieved.

We lived in fear as we became vulnerable, staying home at every opportunity and worrying that our birth partners wouldn’t be allowed at the birth.

We ordered all our baby things online solely based on recommendations from friends, unable to enjoy the shopping experience.

And we felt a sense of loss and sadness, for not being able to share such a significant time in our lives with our loved ones.

It felt a little like we’d been robbed, left to sit in our home alone, without the support of our family and friends, helping us as we felt overwhelmed with this new chapter of our life. And even when we delivered our babies, feeling full of love and gratitude, we worried about keeping them safe.

We may have had the start of labour without our birth partners, causing us distress and anxiety.

We may not have had midwives and health visitors come to our house, instead having telephone calls to check in, leaving us figuring it out.

We may have missed baby classes, support groups and that need for a network, feeling more alone than ever.

We may have had doctors appointments put back and two regular ones rolled into one.

And we may have not been able to see loved ones with our new arrival making those special moments seem lost.

But one things for sure - we had a baby during a pandemic. And that is something that we’ll certainly never forget. So whilst it hasn’t been the pregnancy or start to motherhood I ever imagined, it’s going to be a story to tell them as they get older.

Born in 2020. The year of the pandemic.

*i wrote this post mostly based on my experience, however want to express that I know many others have had it much harder