Giving Birth During Covid-19 – My Experience

This is truly a crazy and scary time in the world right now. I sit here and look at my 3 week old baby boy who came into the world during a global pandemic, that’s right I gave birth during Covid-19. I wanted to share my birth story because I know there are a lot of other pregnant mommas out there who are worried about giving birth during Covid-19. If I can ease any kind of stress or worry on you pregnant momma’s by sharing my story, I am happy to do so!

Let me start by saying, mindset is everything! Keeping a positive mindset throughout the last trimester of my pregnancy and throughout labour (and even now 3 weeks quarantined at home with a newborn and a 2 1/2 year old) is really what helped get me through this feeling good. I made a conscious decision to put myself in check anytime I began to worry or stress about what “could” happen or what it “could” be like to give birth during Covid-19. Anytime I began to feel this way, I shut those thoughts down and focused on the positive, which was “I have a baby boy coming!”, “I’m feeling good”, “I know I’m in good hands with my midwives”, “I am going to make the most out of the situation and it will be an awesome story to tell baby boy when he’s older”.

So Here Is How Kylen Chose To Make His Appearance Into This Crazy World

Note: If you don’t care about hearing my birth story and just want to know what it was like giving birth during Covid-19 and my recommendations etc. scroll to the bottom.  

Let’s start by saying I had worked so hard to organize my business to run smoothly without me while I was away on “mat leave” (lol self-employed people understand why I put this in quotations lol) and the second day I was off work I had to shut my gym down due to Covid-19. Yes this could have added a lot of stress, but I chose to accept it, not dwell on it, and focus on the time I have at home with my 2 1/2 year old in his last days as an only child. Let’s start by saying what I thought was a “few days” ended up being 2 weeks because Kylen decided to make his appearance 9 days late!

 

It was a Tuesday and I was exactly 41 weeks pregnant, aka one week overdue and had a few rough days because I was tired, stuck in the house and a little bitter that I could not use this time to go and get pedi’s with my girlfriends, get pampered with massages, go out for dinners with friends or hubby, all the things most pregnant women do in their last days before birth. Shout out to my husband who actually gave me a little pedicure because my toes were looking pretty bad and I could barely reach my toes comfortably to do anything about it. I went into the hospital to be induced on the Tuesday at 41 weeks pregnant, I was so excited that it was only a matter of time that I was going to be holding baby brother in my arms. Let’s start by saying I was told that I would be induced on the Tuesday, but that morning when I called my midwife to ask what time I should be going, she told me I got bumped to Wednesday because baby and me are too healthy and not a priority. I was crushed and so over being pregnant! A few hours later the hospital called me and told me to come in that day at 12pm to be induced, What?? Ok yes, we are back on track and this is happening! A whirlwind of an emotional morning, but all is going to work out. I never had to be induced with my first as he came right on time, so I didn’t really understand the process.

Bump forward to Wednesday morning (24 hours after being induced) I’m on my way back to the hospital, not in labour and no baby. The nurse checks me out and says “it worked and you are a candidate to stay at the hospital to be put on oxytocin and get this labour started so we can have the baby, buuuuttttt the beds are all full so you will have to just go home”. They told me if I go into labour today I will probably have to go to a different hostpital than I had planned to have my baby at (the same hospital I was born at and my first son), but I tried not to stress about it and just accepted it again. I’m not sure who was more annoyed, hubby or myself. All we could do was just laugh at this point because it was that annoying. Before leaving the hospital the nurse did what they call “a sweep”, anyone who has had this knows exactly what i’m talking about lol. By the time we got to the car to head home contractions had started, it was like magic! We got home and I was in pain with contractions about 5 minutes apart until I finally called the midwife again around 5pm, she told us to come back to the hospital (a different one this time). We were blasting music on the way getting pumped up because we thought for sure this was it! We were finally going to have a little baby boy in our arms very soon!

Well……we get to the hospital and the security to get in was crazy. They wouldn’t let us enter without a mask and then told us to walk around the outside of the hospital to a different entrance. Take note, I was still having contractions and in pain and they still wouldn’t let us in the main entrance of the hospital due to Covid-19 restrictions. We finally found the maternity ward (note: we had never been to this hospital and no one even told the pregnant lady having contractions where to go!) and were greeted by some amazing nurses and my midwife. She checked me out and said “you are only 2cm dilated, you can either stay here and be put on oxytocin to speed up the labour and have the baby, or go home and let your body do it naturally”. She then went to check with the hospital and came back “OK, never mind they don’t have enough nurses on right now, so you can’t stay here”. At this point we laughed about it, especially when she told me to “go home and relax”. Anyone who has ever felt what a contraction feels like knows why I laughed when I was told to relax, this is not an option when getting beat up every few minutes. We made the drive home again from the hospital, this was our third trip if you lost count.

 

Let’s Talk About Back labour…..

I had back labour with my first son and sure enough again with this one. It’s not even possible to put this feeling into words, but anyone who doesn’t know back labour is when the baby is in a certain position and you feel contractions in both your low back and your front! Yes hitting you from all angles! Lol.

Wednesday night continues at home around 9pm I decided to try and “relax” and get some sleep; however, it’s very hard to sleep when you are getting beat down every 4-5 minutes. I told hubby to sleep and I went downstairs in the living room by myself and had to put my game face on. I had to channel my inner strength, do some positive self-talk, and just tough it out. Pacing around the living room then dropping to the couch in pain every 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, which is how close the contractions were at this point. I literally thank my fitness, my strength, and mental toughness for getting me through this one. I finally called the midwife again after an hour of this because I have heard way to many stories of women having babies at home and I personally didn’t want to experience a home birth during Covid-19! Plus the hospital has drugs! Lol. I run upstairs yelling for hubby to wake up so we can head back to the hospital “It’s Go Time!!!”, poor guy was half asleep and just as exhausted as me at this point.

We get back to the hospital and at least we know which entrance we have to go in this time. Hubby had to wheelchair me into the hospital because the contractions were that bad. My midwife actually called us on the drive to the hospital asking if we were going to make it there.

Here is how that conversation went:

Midwife: Are you going to make it here?

Me: Ummm what do you mean?

Midwife: Well you sound like it’s pretty close, do you think you are going to have the baby?

Me: Ummm what do you mean? What do I look for?

Midwife: Umm a head! Lol

Me: Looks at husband – “drive faster!!”

Luckily we made it to the hospital with some time to spare, this would be around 11:30pm on Wednesday evening.  I was 6-7cm dilated and I still had time for the epidural! Yup that’s right….I looked at my midwife and said epidural now please with a giggle, but she knew I was serious and we laughed about it. I got beat up by back labour contractions 2 minutes apart for about an hour and a half until the epidural man came to save me (that’s what I called him lol). This was where I really had to channel my inner athlete kind of moment, no words can literally explain the pain. Maybe I’m being dramatic, but it was no joke.

1:00am – epidural man saved me and after that I was CHILLIN! Hubby, my midwife, the nurse, and myself hung out in the room and just chatted about life and all kinds of things for the next 2 hours. Such a nice experience (because the pain was gone now….thank goodness lol) until about 3:00am and my midwife said “I think we should be ready, you want to push this baby out now??”. Based on my past birth experience of pushing Jaxson out in just 15 minutes and only 3 pushes, she gave me a quick pep talk before the push:

 

“Ok Michelle, now take it easy wonder woman….If I tell you to slow down, slow down ok!”

Lol, myself determined to beat my record of 15 minutes listened to her, but also let her know that I’m competitive (against myself) and wanted to see if I could beat my time LOL.

One push, there’s the head…..

Midwife: “holy smokes you are strong! Ok now take it easy….”

Me: laughing “I’ve been training my whole life for this”

6 Minutes later….. 3:06am Baby Kylen was lying on my chest and I was kissing his little forhead.

Finally he was here and another great birthing experience like I had with Jaxson (read my birth story with Jaxson Here). I honestly owe it to my strength to get me through this one and to be honest there is no better feeling than the feeling of strong! Birthing a baby while feeling in full control and communication with your muscles (even after epidural) is such a good feeling. My body built this human from scratch and pushed him out no problem, amazing feeling!  To be honest nothing felt different from my first birth to this birth during Covid-19.

It’s funny when you are pregnant so many people ask if you are going to get an epidural or try to do it naturally. Every time I was asked I said my plan was to get an epidural for sure, but we will see if that’s in the cards as once in labour anything can happen. We almost didn’t make it to the hospital in time. I want to give huge props to any woman who has given birth without that epidural, by choice or not because you are the real OG’s!!. My personal opinion is that after having such an amazing birth experience with Jaxson and getting to really relax and take in the whole experience because I wasn’t in pain is exactly what I wanted again. I got the exact same experience this birth of Kylen again. I even had hubby film the entire thing and take lot’s of pictures (I was too scared to see what was going on last time lol) so that I would forever be able to look back at how amazing my body is. I will forever had the images of almost being able to pull both babies out and right on to my chest engrained into my mind.

My Experience Giving Birth During Covid-19

Overall I can’t say that it was much different giving birth during Covid-19 vs. When the world was functioning normally. The whole reason I wanted to share this blog is to give piece of mind to many pregnant women out there who might be stressing about not only being pregnant, but giving birth during Covid-19. I first want to tell you that, don’t worry Momma it’s going to be OK! It’s a scary time, but also an exciting time as you are growing and about to meet your tiny human! Focusing on the positive and not letting the stress and worry get to you is very important in finishing the rest of your pregnancy.

Here is what was different this birth during covid-19 vs. Giving birth 2 years ago (when the world was normal lol)

1. Midwife appointments were decreased, had some phone appointments to keep people out of the office, and my appointments felt very “doctor’s office” like. One of the reasons I loved having a midwife was the comforting feeling of the office, how relaxed they were, and how non-doctor’s office-like it felt when going in for my appointments. Midwives went from being dressed casual (jeans and t-shirts) to full scrubs and face masks during appointments. There is something about getting to hear the baby’s healthy heart beat each week as you near the end of your pregnancy, but because some of my appointments were over the phone I didn’t get that security. With that being said, I never once felt like I wasn’t getting the care I needed and the casual vibe of the midwives regarding my pregnancy and baby made me feel comforted.
2. I didn’t have to wear a mask while in labour, but all nurses and my midwife were wearing masks the entire time. While walking through the hospital to the maternity ward the first time we were stopped and had to wear masks until we got to the maternity ward. My husband was the only one allowed in the room with me while I was giving birth, which was fine with me as I had no plans of having anyone else in there until after baby had arrived. In my opinion this is the new norm and is nothing anyone should stress about if you are going to give birth during Covid-19.
3. No visitors allowed after baby arrives, yes that means Jaxson was not even able to meet his baby brother at the hospital. Yes, this was upsetting at first because I looked forward to the hospital picture with my new baby meeting his big brother; however, it wasn’t that bad after all. A blessing in disguise was that when you are not worrying about all the visitors coming to see you at the hospital you can really take that time with your husband to bond and enjoy your new baby. We were in our own little world in that hospital room and were still able to face time everyone to meet the new baby. As someone who had just given birth, you also don’t have to worry about getting yourself together and being a good host at the hospital while trying to recover and breastfeed your newborn. As for Jaxson, he still had an amazing moment the following morning when we brought baby brother home. We hyped it up so much and he was already sitting on the couch ready to hold his new baby brother the second we got home. We still got all the cute videos and pictures and in the end, it will make for a great story to tell them both when they are older.

Other than the 3 things listed above, these are the only things that were different in the end of my pregnancy and while giving birth during Covid-19. I had no negative memories of my birth experience (other than the pain! Lol) due to the global pandemic.

My Recommendations For Anyone About To Give Birth During Covid-19

1. Be Flexible and Go With The Flow

-Have a plan, but don’t stress if the plan changes. Just try to relax and go with the flow and know that it will all work out in the end 🙂

2. Don’t Stress About Things You Can’t Change

– There is no need to stress about anything that is happening in the world and the medical system that you can’t change. Try your best to focus on the positive and it will make your experience that much better. Positive = you are pregnant and get to expand your family and then be quarantined at home with your family to truly bond.

3. Remember Maternity Wards Are Usually In a Separate Part of The Hospital

– At least in the 2 hospitals I visited during my birth experience, you are far away from the emergency room and I felt more secluded and safe.

4. Accept That This is The Current Time & Focus on The Positive

– As mentioned above, but wanted to say it again! You got this Momma! Focus on the blessing and remember everything will be OK!

5. If You Have Other Children Remember That Not Having Them Meet Their Sibling At The Hospital Is Not The End of The World

   – Jaxson didn’t know any different and was still just as happy and excited to meet his baby brother the morning after he was born at home. He first met his baby brother and face time and it wasn’t weird for him at all because that is how he is communicating with everyone these days! Lol. I think it’s more of us Momma’s wanting the kids to have that experience, because lets be honest the kids don’t know any better??

 

It’s truly a crazy time the world right now, a time that none of us could have ever imagined could happen, but the more you try to focus on the positive, be grateful for your health, and excited for the future the better you will feel mentally.  Just think after giving birth during Covid-19 you can have all the excuses to stay in the house and snuggle you new born baby as much as you like!  That is what I have been spending the last 3 weeks doing 🙂 

Wishing you all stay safe and healthy during this crazy time and if you are pregnant, just had a baby, or need help with keeping your fitness up during quarantine feel free to DM me on Instagram (@MichelleRootsFit) or check out my content to keep you motivated and positive.

Love My Boys & I