Expectant moms talk about pregnancy during a pandemic with online support group
Pregnant women cooped up in COVID-19 isolation use chat apps to keep reassured, informed
Danielle Butler was doing OK navigating the uncharted waters of her first pregnancy — but eight months in, COVID-19 brought a whole new wave of uncertainty.
"The first response was an emotional one … to get anxious and scared because it's such unknown territory," said Butler, 33.
She says her doctor "didn't really know" how the pandemic might impact her delivery.
There are still many unknowns about the novel coronavirus, which are magnifying the usual stresses about bringing a baby into the world.
Health Canada states there's "insufficient evidence" to suggest pregnant women are at risk of more serious outcomes related to COVID-19.
"The data out there right now suggests that it does not cross the placenta. It doesn't get to the baby," said Dr. Graeme Smith, head of obstetrics and gynecology at Queen's University.
Still, as physical isolation measures across Canada lead to prenatal classes being cancelled and doctor's offices closing their doors to visits, Butler started an online chat group for expectant mothers in Toronto to stay reassured and informed.
A 'sense of security' during isolation
What started as five women trying to calm each other's anxieties on WhatsApp quickly grew to a group of 30.
Butler shifted the conversation to a communication platform called Slack, and pregnant mothers outside Toronto have since joined.
"It helps a lot. It just takes a layer of isolation away from the whole situation," she said.
She also set up an email address so others can request entry to the group.
Butler says it offers a "sense of security" to share online pregnancy resources, their experiences at different hospitals, or how to connect with companies that offer virtual prenatal classes. The group plans to try its first online prenatal meditation session soon.
"It's more about sharing actual updates that are relevant to our situation versus the scary stories we're seeing in the news right now," said Butler.
"It's created something special and sort of a positive outlook in all of this."
Opting for midwives over hospital delivery
Other expectant mothers, such as Nusha Balram, have changed delivery plans in the face of the pandemic.
Balram's first child was born in a Vancouver hospital, but her partner was keen to try a midwife for their second child. Balram, who is 37 weeks pregnant, agreed.
"I think a lot of people who either were on the fence about a home birth before … are now considering it as an option," she said.
"My concern isn't so much the hospital setting itself.… It would be that if anything happened, God forbid, or if I went in for a caesarean, that my family wouldn't be allowed to visit."
Balram says her midwives have been "amazing," especially in the past few weeks, as they grow increasingly busy and cope with constantly shifting health guidelines.
Dr. Smith says he worries about increased demand for midwives, since two midwives must be present for a home birth. If they're exposed to someone sick with COVID-19, "potentially it's taking two midwives out of the system for a couple of weeks."
As far as hospital deliveries, Smith is assuring his patients they'll have "essentially the same experience," despite the pandemic.
"It's business as usual, but business as usual doesn't look the same."
Anyone entering the labour and delivery area at the Kingston Health Sciences Centre in Kingston, Ont., where Smith works, has to pass through two levels of COVID-19 screening before being admitted.
"If you screen negative, if you have no signs or symptoms, then we would treat you like any normal labouring person."
He acknowledges that if a woman requires a caesarean section, partners won't be allowed into the operating room because hospitals "can't afford" to offer gowns or masks to anyone other than health-care workers.
Similarly, if a woman gets an epidural, everybody typically puts on a mask. During the pandemic, partners will be asked to leave the room.
Don't visit the baby
Dr. Smith advises expectant parents to ensure friends and family — even doting grandparents — don't visit when new babies come home.
"That's the last thing you want is people coming over… people shouldn't ever be allowed to either kiss the baby or touch the baby without washing your hands," he said.
With less than a month before she's due, Butler is confident she'll be well cared for when she's ready to give birth.
But she's already put her family on notice that it may be months until they get to hold her newborn.
"We really don't know what the situation will be like or when they're able to meet our baby. So we're just preparing for that."
Interviews produced by Samantha Lui and Stephanie Cram.
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