COVID Birth Stories - Jade and baby Evie
As we in the UK have been plunged into a third lockdown, conversations with expectant Mums have, unsurprisingly, turned to whether or not they themselves will be faced with bringing their little one into the world with restrictions, rules and social distancing.
As an expectant Mum myself, this is a legitimate worry. Whilst none of us ultimately have control over our birth stories, these times give rise to heightened apprehension and additional distress that we could do without.
The thought of potentially giving birth on my own or having my partner be told he has to leave us just a short while after welcoming our child is a million miles away from the beautiful picture I have painted for so long.
It is for these reason that I reached out to new Mums who have experienced giving birth during the pandemic, asking them to share their stories in the hope that it will shed light, dampen anxieties and bring about a welcome relief, demonstrating that yes, we can still have a beautiful birth story, filled with love, security and happiness, despite what is happening outside of our bubble.
Next in this series is Jade who welcomed baby Evie on 28th April 2020. Again, Jade shares her story of birth right in the peak of the pandemic when hospitals were stretched to capacity and there was still so much unknown about the virus*.
I was due on the 27th of April 2020. The first lockdown hit on the 26th of March.
I feel I was very lucky to have had all my scans apart from the last one with my partner beside me.
My baby shower was cancelled, which whilst not important, would have been nice to have and experience.
This was my first baby and honestly, in the weeks leading up to the birth I tried to be as positive as possible, to just forget about the pandemic and focus on the birth and meeting our baby girl. During my pregnancy I had Hypnobirthing classes - with a lady called Louise who was fantastic - and I can truly say that these got me through it all, helping me feel calm and positive about the birth.
My waters broke at 5.00am on the morning of my due date. I entered the hospital and my partner stood outside in the hallway panicking and anxious. He then went home and waited for the call to say he could come back to the hospital.
By 4.00pm that day I was finally ready to be moved to the labour ward. I remember the nurse asking me “which bag is more important?" as I clambered into the wheelchair. There was no one else there to help me with my bags but thankfully a fantastic student nurse grabbed my suitcase as I had picked baby’s bag.
I remember texting my partner to say “please come now!!”
It honestly felt like forever for him to get to the hospital and by the time he arrived I was well into my labour experience. My partner told me that he and another Dads had been running around the hospital trying to get in to see their partners.
Labour was 22 hours long and ended with a few complications but thankfully my daughter was born at 02.02am on the 28th of April. Unfortunately, my partner got an hour with us before he had to leave.
I left the hospital that day at 5.30pm in what sort of felt like a complete rush - at this time everyone was petrified of this new virus!
On returning home it was just the three of us, no visitors. At times this was great - no need to worry about tidying up or making endless cups of tea - but other times it was lonely as my partner had to return to work. As a first time mum there was no help from my Mum or Gran as I’d hoped. That said, after care with the local midwives at home was fantastic and they were always there at the end of the phone if there was any concerns with baby.
Looking back it was very tough but I did it and it’s something I’m incredibly proud of. I definitely feel like it’s made me stronger as a woman, and certainly as a new mother.
*Note that COVID-related guidance has been amended since the beginning of the pandemic. NHS England now appreciates and acknowledges the value that birthing partners offer. In December 2020 NHS England released official documentation stating “it is…our aim, further to a risk assessment, that a woman should have access to support from a person of her choosing at all stages of her maternity journey and that all trusts should facilitate this as quickly as possible”. As a consequence, most hospital trusts are now more able to facilitate birth partners for the full duration of birth.