'I Tested Positive During Labour' – 9 Pandemic Birth Stories
Giving birth during a global pandemic is tough.
Mums-to-be have been forced to endure labour alone, with their partners only allowed into the ward during the late stages. Some who had pre-planned a home birth had to opt for a hospital one, instead. And many spent the last months of their pregnancy feeling anxious after it was revealed women who were expecting were counted as high-risk for Covid-19.
As part of our Birth Diaries series, HuffPost UK has been speaking weekly to mums who have given birth since March to hear their stories first-hand.
Here, nine mothers explain what it was really like to give birth in the Covid era.
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‘I tested positive for coronavirus while I was in labour’
“The labour was progressing quickly. I spent time in the pool, then moved to the couch. I remember someone calling the midwife out of the room at one point and I could hear muttering. I was exhausted and in pain. My midwife came back in: ‘I need to let you know you’ve tested positive for Covid-19.’ I looked at my husband with fear. What did it mean? I had no symptoms, no idea how I’d got it. I’d not left the house for a month. I worried what it meant for my baby, but most of all, I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt.”
‘I had my sister on loudspeaker when my son was born’
“I’d been very scared of a C-section, but it was the right choice in the moment. The whole team in theatre were female, and it was a really positive atmosphere. And once the epidural worked, it was amazing how suddenly the pain went. My doula was next to me the whole time, and my sister heard my son scream as he was born. They showed him to me really quick, and he went off for checks. He totally stopped crying when he was laid on my chest and heard my voice.”
