Pregnant In A Pandemic

Opening up a little today to share my raw thoughts on being pregnant in a pandemic. I just want to start off by saying I am in no way complaining, just sharing my experience.

Pregnancy can feel very lonely, especially in the beginning. You find out your pregnant and are kind of in disbelief especially as a first time mom. Then depending on how early you found out, you have to wait until you see a doctor for that first visit. I found out when I was 4 weeks pregnant so I had another 4 weeks aka 1 month to let the pregnancy really sink it. It honestly doesn’t feel “real” until that first appointment and hearing the baby’s heartbeat. Then you wait another 4 weeks until your next appointment.

Holding your breath because now you’re at 12 weeks…almost out of the “danger zone” aka the time when miscarriages are highest. All the while, add a pandemic on top of this. Those first 13 weeks are exciting but in the back of your mind you want to make it to that “finish line” of the second trimester. No one talks about the everyday anxiety you have hoping you stay pregnant since you hear so many horror stories but secretly have to push that out of your mind and remain positive that all is going well.

Oh and roughly weeks 10-14 are when you get the prenatal testing done. And in a pandemic you do this alone. Again hoping/praying for the best and having to relay any news you find out to your partner to the best of your ability.

Now you’re in the second trimester and can breathe a little easier. Like I said earlier, in a pandemic, your partner can’t attend appointments. Which can we talk about that for a second. I saw an Instagram post that really stuck with me. It made me sad because it’s true. Why are people allowed to go to restaurants and eat mask free with people not of their same household but my husband whom I am in the same household with can’t attend my appointments? Make it make sense.

Anyway, the big ultrasound that you have during the second trimester is your anatomy scan. I am so happy we chose to not find out the gender of the baby then because again, Sheldon could not come into the room. Fortunate for me there were no issues anatomy wise but I couldn’t imagine being alone and finding out not so great news. Or being high risk and going to these appointments alone. For the record, FaceTime isn’t the same thing, it doesn’t cut it, BUT it’s our silver lining right now.

Though I’m not mad about the lack of visitor situation since ya know, COVID and all, I can’t help but feel a little FOMO for celebrating our baby girl. We made last minute changes to do a zoom gender reveal party which we loved by the way. And I know my mom would love to throw an elaborate baby shower for us but we have to roll with the punches. I’m actually super excited for what we have planned and know we will still have an amazing day.

As the graphic above shows, my biggest concerns are the lack of prenatal support. It’s not as easy to communicate with my doctors and it’s very frustrating when you have questions or concerns. Also otherwise in-person classes are no longer a thing. Lastly, as of right now, I can only have 1 support person in the room with me when I give birth aka my husband. We have a doula who has been a wonderful advocate throughout this pregnancy but she can’t do her job in person at the hospital with us at the moment. I’m praying that changes by April.

I choose to remain positive and optimistic for my mental health and well being and for my baby girl. If you are currently pregnant or recently gave birth, I feel for ya. It’s tough on us but honestly things can always be worse. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk. Would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section.

Thanks for reading!