Pregnancy During COVID-19

After two years of an up and down emotional roller coaster ride from trying to get pregnant and a variety of fertility treatments,  Sofiya Merchant, 32, and her husband Desmon Merchant, 29, tried IVF as the last resort. During the 2019 Christmas holiday, they originally planned to be on a cruise with their family in the Bahamas, but their doctor thought it was not the best time –  fertility speaking – because they had to take a pregnancy test at the clinic nine days after insemination. They decided to not go and the other family members did. Two of them got sick. The day after Christmas, Sofiya and Desmon found out it worked. But, their joy was soon tampered by COVID-19.   

Pregnancy care and the birthing experience changed drastically once the pandemic arrived. Pregnant people have been experiencing prenatal care and ultrasound appointments alone and alternative birthing options have risen in popularity. 

Suddenly, COVID-19 was a dominant figure in Sofiya’s pregnancy. Anxiety took over. She was afraid of contracting coronavirus and transmitting it to her baby. She witnessed people not wearing masks in public spaces, so she chose to self-isolate. 

Some people have dealt with anxiety by opting to forego hospitals, leading several midwife practices to boom. Demetra Seriki, midwife and founder of A Mother’s Choice Midwifery in Colorado Springs, has always been busy with her work. Once the pandemic presented itself in March, though, her workload doubled within weeks and she barely had time to breathe. 

Amid the growing demand for births outside of the hospital, Seriki worried about the rising risk of exposure for herself and her team. She decided to scale back and stop accepting new patients. She needed time to recover from the physical, emotional, social and even financial drain she experienced from the initial wave of home births during COVID-19. 

With the increase in clients, came an increase in cost for the midwives. Even though the State of Colorado recognizes midwives as licensed practitioners, during the pandemic, midwives (outside of hospitals) did not receive personal protective equipment (PPE) at reduced costs because of the high demand of PPE in the spring of 2020. This meant A Mother’s Choice paid for PPE at a rate three to four times higher than pre-coronavirus costs, and profits were nonexistent during the first three months of the pandemic. The clinic serves patients on Medicare and Tricare, as well as uninsured and homeless families oftentimes at a lower cost. The objective of A Mother’s Choice is to remove barriers that prevent access to quality health care during the childbearing years that minority communities face. 

After a couple months of not accepting new clients, Seriki decided to move forward by extensively screening each potential new client and making sure their decisions for home births were not driven by anxiety due to the pandemic, especially for those transitioning from one provider to her. With the fear of the COVID-19, Seriki wanted to ensure that her potential clients’ anxieties would not prevent them from disclosing necessary information about their health – in order to give birth outside a hospital. Since out-of-hospital births are not for everybody, her extensive screening allows her to know if she’s a good midwife candidate for the families. 

“People playing out of fear are playing roulette,” Seriki said. “Fear-based birth doesn’t have a place.” 

She believes researching alternative birthing options should not begin because of the threat of a pandemic. 

For Jessica Chrysler, 34, of Overland Park, Kansas, she felt lucky that she and her husband worked remotely during her pregnancy. When COVID-19 hit, they strictly quarantined, even having their groceries delivered. They mainly left the house for neighborhood walks. 

Because of the great reviews at AdventHealth Shawnee Mission in Mirriam, Kansas, Chrystler decided to give birth there. She felt that she was in good hands. She attended prenatal appointments there without her husband because of COVID-19 policies. Video chats were allowed, but they never did because “No Phone” signs were in the rooms that housed ultrasound equipment. They wanted to be safe.

Chrysler went into labor on Sept. 7th, 2020 and the next day she was admitted into the hospital. They tested her for COVID-19 and both she and her husband underwent temperature checks. He was allowed to be in the hospital room, but once there could not come and go because of the strict policies enforced and it would take two full days to get the COVID-19 test results. This also meant that other family members could not attend the birth.

During labor at the hospital, Chrysler had to wear a mask, since her COVID-19 results had not yet come back. Her entire birthing experience was traumatic, with two days of being in labor and painful contractions that lasted at least a minute long each. She eventually delivered via an emergency C-section after the baby’s heart rate fell dangerously low. Throughout the surgery as well, she wore a mask. The day after her baby was born, her test results finally came through: negative. 

Like Chrysler, Sofiya had a C-section, but this was her choice after hours of exhausting labor. At Presbyterian St. Lukes in Denver, the medical staff tested her for COVID-19 as well. The difference is that her husband could come and go as pleased and they never had to wear masks while in the room. Policies vary between hospitals and the rules changed almost as quickly as COVID-19 information did. 

One month after giving birth, Sofiya  still experiences anxiety and fear about the pandemic, even when going for a walk. She is figuring out how to manage these emotions at a time when COVID-19 continues to create uncertainty for many. Through online support groups, she relates with other moms on recognizing the emotional toll the pandemic has placed upon their new families.