Experiencing Pregnancy and Delivery During a Pandemic – My Birth Story

The year 2020 is a year no one well ever forget! For me it was a year to remember because it was the year I had my very last ever pregnancy. My sweet rainbow baby Aesyn Stone joined our family on November 12, 2020. We were definitely surprised to find out we were expecting this pregnancy but absolutely overjoyed to welcome the last and final addition to our family.

We found out we were expecting our surprise rainbow baby March 23, 2020 – the same week we officially found out our lives were changing due to the novel corona virus and began a statewide mandated quarantine. As soon as I found out I was expecting I knew I wanted to go about this pregnancy differently. I wanted to protect myself and my new baby from Covid-19 the best I could, by avoiding hospitals and medical offices as much as possible.

I decided for this pregnancy I would find a midwife and deliver either at home or at at birthing center – where the chances of being exposed to Covid-19 would be significantly less. I also wanted to deliver somewhere I could feel more comfortable and not be stuck dealing with Covid-19 precautions during labor. I REALLY wanted to avoid having to be tested for the virus, or being forced to wear a mask during labor. As a mom of 5 (expecting number 6) I have delivered several of my babies naturally, so I knew right away I didn’t want to deliver somewhere I would be hooked up to monitors, IV’s and so forth. I also really didn’t want to have to spend time in a hospital. I have 5 kids at home and one with special needs so my goal was to deliver and go home right away so I could recover with my family close by. I have never enjoyed staying in a hospital, being woken up all throughout the night, constantly being poked and prodded. I think having a baby should be an enjoyable experience, shared with your friends and family close by.

As my pregnancy progressed my morning sickness began to get worse and worse. It eventually got to a point where I could not eat or drink anything without getting sick! It stayed that awful the ENTIRE TIME! By the end of my pregnancy I weighted less than before I was pregnant, was mal-nutritioned and severally anemic. I was being closely monitored by my midwives and having to get IV fluids and iron infusions 2-3 days a week! Around 35 weeks my weight begun to drop more drastically and the baby had not grown since 32 weeks, so my midwives and the maternal fetal medicines specialist decided it was time to transfer my care to an OBGYN. I appreciated their concern for me but, I was so extremely disappointed because I knew this meant that I would not have to deliver in a hospital, get Covid tested, be hooked up to monitors – everything I DID NOT WANT!

I ended up finding an amazing OBGYN who was deeply concerned for my health and knew that inducing me as soon as possible was at my best interest for both mine and the babies health. She promised to stay back and let my labor be as natural as possible. However, with having to be induced and with my iron and ferritin levels so low she was greatly concerned for my well being during and after my labor. She scheduled an induction to happen without pitocin (unless I needed it), and had all of the medications and things needed to help minimize bleeding as much as possible. She was amazing.

Finally delivery day came! We packed our stuff up, headed to the hospital, checked in and the nervousness about being Covid tested began. As the nurses began all of my admittance paperwork they were shocked that I had no anxiousness about the delivery, just fear of having my nose swabbed – haha. Thankfully the test they preformed did not have to swab my brain, just the front of my nose. Phew! Next was the plan of not using pitocin. Well that didn’t quite go as planned either. My doctor was busy delivering another baby at another hospital so she couldn’t come break my water. I asked if another doctor would do it. Thank God there was a doctor willing to help me out. She broke my water and I of course expected labor to start instantly like it did with all of my other babies. But of course not this time! Instead I labored with uncomfortable but tolerable contractions for about 4 hours and had very little progress. Being extremely sick and weak from not having eaten in basically 9 months, we were all worried if my labor continued to drag on I wouldn’t be strong enough to push, so we decided to go ahead with the very dreaded pitocin. What I call is the drug from hell. The death drug. The kill me now drug. haha – as you can tell I am not a fan of that nasty stuff!

Once we started the pitocin I went from 2 to 6 cm dialated in an hour! That’s when they called the doctor and began to prep my room for delivery. The pain at this point was so extreme for the first delivery ever I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. Each contraction took absolutely everything out of me and felt like my back was being ripped apart. My doctor kept her promise and just stood back quietly and let me labor as I needed. It only took a few contractions to get from 6 cm to oh my goodness there’s a baby! It was crazy, the pain in my back with each contraction was so bad that I didn’t even know I was pushing or even that the baby was coming. Next thing I know my mom is yelling, he’s here – your baby is here! All I could think was “I didn’t even feel him come out, or realize I was pushing him”.

Aesyn Stone was here. He was perfect, beautiful, tiny and everything we had waited for through so many miscarriages and so much sickness with my pregnancy. I was sad that my kids could not be there for the delivery as we originally planned but so glad that Aesyn’s arrival came without any major complications. I did have some significant post delivery bleeding, but my doctor was so well prepared for that and got in under control super fast.

At 38 weeks, Aesyn Stone arrived at just 5 lbs 13 ounces and 19 inches long. He had a full head of dark hair and huge beautiful eyes. Right away he wanted to nurse and latched on like a champion!

My stay at the hospital was everything I expected. I had to stay two days (I’ve never stayed more than 24 hours with any of my previous deliveries). I was woken up every 2 hours to look at baby and me. The cafeteria was closed so they were not serving food as normal. Unfortunately with my dietary issues I developed during pregnancy this meant I really couldn’t eat the pre-set meals they were sending up. The worst part for me was the fact I could not have any visitors. I spent two days in the hospital completely alone. My kids couldn’t come meet their new baby brother. I just broke my heart!

As you can see my pregnancy and delivery experience ended up being everything I did NOT want. Covid definitely made my last pregnancy experience a memorable one. I guess I can say it did teach me that even if EVERYTHING goes wrong – as long as we get a healthy baby at the end, nothing else matters!

My Original Birth Plan:

1. Midwife prenatal and delivery care.
2. Deliver at at birthing center.
3. Absolutely no medications to assist delivery or pain.
4. All natural delivery, including no IVs or monitors.
5. No Covid testing.
6. My mom, daughter Maiya and daughter Nyomi in the delivery, along with my hubby of course.
7. Return home 2-4 hours after delivery, to recover at home in my own bed.

What Actually Happened:

1. I got switched to an OBGYN.
2. Delivered at a hospital.
3. Had to have Pitocin.
4. Was hooked up to monitors and IVs the whole time.
5. Was Covid tested when admitted to the hospital.
6. Only my husband was able to be in the room with me until the very end, where my mom was able to come in for a short time.
7. I was stuck at the hospital for 2 days alone with no visitors, woken up every time I tried to sleep by those silly nurses.

Needless to say what I hoped for and what actually happened were nearly complete opposites, however the ultimate end result was the hope of a healthy baby! Even though my pregnancy and birth did not go as planned we got the best gift of all at the end, a perfect, sweet healthy baby Aesyn!

Being pregnant and delivering during the pandemic was very challenging, lonely, frustrating, and unplanned. Every single time a see a woman pregnant I feel for how she is coping with these challenges and say a prayer for her. If you are expecting or hoping to be expecting and have any fears, frustrations or feelings of loneliness, please comment below and I would love to pray for you!