- Hi, my name's Lisa.
- Hi, my name is Prameela George.
- Hi, my name is Morgan Peterson.
- Hi, my name is Irina Gonzalez.
- I'm Sarah Tabet.
- My name is Yesenia.
- I'm Wendy Friedman and I'm 37 weeks pregnant.
- I'm currently 31 weeks pregnant
and I'm also a family medicine physician.
- And I'm currently 29 weeks pregnant.
- Almost 39 weeks pregnant.
- 29 weeks pregnant.
- 10 weeks pregnant.
- I'm about 20 weeks pregnant.
(light music)
- During this covid-19 pandemic,
being pregnant and also being a physician
has been quite an experience,
to say the least.
There been a lot of emotions
and a lot of different feelings that have been going on
to an already stressful period.
- Being in my first trimester, one of my biggest concerns,
health wise, was coming down with a fever.
And now with the increased prevalence of covid-19,
that chance is much more likely.
The problem with coming down with a fever
in your first trimester,
it can lead to birth defects, it could potentially lead to
loss of pregnancy, if the fever is not controlled.
- My husband still has to go into work
because his company is considered essential
and it really, really, really has me stressed out.
I think the biggest worry for me is that,
you know, he will get sick and not be able to
be there at the birth of his child.
Even worse really that I will also get sick
and you know, be separated from the baby.
- Even stepping into a hospital is terrifying right now.
My last visit to the hospital,
I had to go through screenings, wear a mask,
it just changed everything, from being beautiful
and a celebration, to almost just like a fear
and just being kind of terrified to even go through with it.
- My doctor says that there isn't really a concern
for the baby.
There's hasn't been any evidence that shows
that I can pass, if I got sick,
that I would pass the virus onto the baby.
- There's not a lot of information right now
about how this virus impacts pregnancy.
But from what we do know, it seems like
there are some good outcomes
and there have been lots,
not lots, a few, right?
'Cause the research is limited.
A few healthy babies delivered to moms
who've had covid-19.
So, that makes me feel good.
As of right now, I'm really fortunate
that both my husband and I
are able to work from home
but out daycare's closed, so we're working from home
with our two-year-old,
which is a little bit stressful.
The days are just really long,
especially since we can't really get out of the house.
- It came to a point where I started to worry
when I saw patients with these covid-like symptoms
on my schedule.
And I was, you know, stuck between
should I see them, should I ask my colleagues.
You know, I don't wanna dump this on my colleagues
and you know, when I spoke to them
about my issues of seeing the patients
being pregnant, especially,
they were very, very understanding
and I even had some of my colleagues
just come up to me and say,
hey, listen, you're not gonna see that patient.
I'm gonna go see that patient.
You just stay in your office.
Today, I actually just had my,
it was my first telephone OB visit.
And
it was nice to speak to my OB over the phone,
discuss all the issues that I had.
We were able to discuss changes to the birthing plan.
Any way that this covid-19 could affect future visits,
and so on.
So, I was able to get a lot of information.
However, a part of me, during the visit,
just really wished I could have that doppler on my belly,
checking her heart beat.
The next appointment that I'm due for,
I actually have to see the OB for certain tests to be done,
so, I will be seeing my OB in about one month
and I'm hoping that the pandemic
is better at that time or at least somewhat controlled,
so that I can make the visit.
But just that comfort of knowing that,
okay, if I call her, she'll be able to fit me in next week
and I can see or even later this week.
But now, with covid-19, it's not there,
it's gonna be over the phone reassurance
and it's very frustrating,
it could be very scary.
- So, I think it's really hard to do
the prenatal appointments virtually
because at this point in the pregnancy,
my doctor needs to like check on the baby
and like, see, you know, what the status is.
So, I have to go into the doctor's office
and I actually also have to go to the hospital
once a week, because I have gestational diabetes.
I do feel very nervous going but I know that they're
taking a lot of safety precautions.
- I was really trying to be open
to the possibly that it might not go according to plan
because every birth is different
and I feel like with this coronavirus pandemic,
that is really putting that to the test, right?
Like, everything feels very out of control, right?
Versus just a few smaller factors
that may have been on my mind,
the first time around.
So, I don't actually have a birth plan.
I don't know if that's all second child problems.
I was open to an epidural, I still am,
I am worried about the availability of an anesthesiologist,
or just the extra support staff
on the labor and delivery ward.
This is totally just in my own head,
not anything my doctor told me I should be worried about.
But I think I was also worried about that in general,
like what happens if I'm too far along,
or don't get to the hospital in time for an epidural.
So, that is low down on my priorities.
I think I could do it without one,
I know I can, but you know, it just definitely
makes you rethink and then for me
having a two-year-old at home,
it definitely throws a wrench in the
who's gonna watch your kid
when you got to the hospital to have birth.
At the end of the day, just trying to stay calm
and have a healthy baby.
- You know, I've talked to my OB
about possibly having an induction,
which is something I was completely against
just weeks ago.
We haven't really decided to go down that route yet,
but I think that considering with everything else
going on, I'm a lot more open to maybe
just trying to have this baby as soon as possible.
I don't wanna take any drastic measures
but I think that weeks ago, I was very against,
you know, having medical interventions,
I just wanted to give birth naturally,
without pain and now I've pretty much changed my tune.
- I'm actually giving birth in Greenwich, Connecticut.
So, far, I haven't heard about partners
not being allowed in the delivery room,
so my husband actually just brought that up this morning.
He said that you know, what if I'm not even allowed
to be in the room when the baby's born?
What if I can't cut the umbilical cord?
And that hadn't even crossed my mind.
And that's kind of scary.
- I know a lot of people have reached out
and talked about maybe doing a home birth
but right now, midwives, it's impossible
to find one, even if you wanted to.
I feel like I need to be in the hospital,
especially, with my placenta situation.
You know, I didn't realize I would need a c-section
because right now, where it stands,
the baby physically can't come out
because the placenta is on top of the cervix
and blocking it.
So, I need to be in a hospital to deliver.
I have to make sure I'm in the care
of someone if I have to go into surgery.
And that alone, I thought was terrifying,
before all of this happened.
But now I'm almost begging for a c-section
because that would be something to schedule
and to plan around.
- I just want like a safe birth
and I just want my husband to be there.
Like, that's the most I ask for right now.
- I think, I hope, I believe
that there are gonna be so many beautiful babies born
during this time.
And you're stronger than you think you are
and you can do this.
- Women have been giving birth
through so many different world disasters,
through different other pandemics, epidemics,
World Wars, even tsunamis, hurricanes,
earthquakes and women have done it.
And they've been successful
and so many beautiful, healthy babies
have been born and we can do it too.
It's a bit of a struggle and yes,
it may have been easier for others,
who did not have to go through covid-19
but we can get through this too
and we will get through this.
- To be able to look back and think like,
I was pregnant during that time,
or I brought a baby into the world
during one of the craziest times is
pretty powerful.
And like right now, it's really hard
but I think we'll look back
and will only make us stronger,
it'll make us better mothers
because we're like, okay, if we can get through that,
everything else is just gonna feel so minimal.
- I'm really looking forward to meeting my baby.
That's what I try to focus on,
is meeting him and saying hi.
And then, protecting the crap out of him.
(woman laughs)
(soft music)