"Pandemic Births: Inside & Outside the Labor Rooms"

It was supposed to be another regular prenatal checkup for the expectant 21-year-old mother Aileen (alias) who was all set and ready with her mother, as they wore the required thick face shields and face masks for their long trip to a hospital in Carcar City on the morning of July 21, 2021.

But little did Aileen know that she was in for a surprise as her baby boy who could no longer wait to see the world, abruptly decided to flip the schedule, turning his mother’s planned prenatal checkup into his unexpected birthday.

Aileen was not the first woman to experience giving birth during the pandemic.

In fact, it was estimated that an extra 214,000 unplanned babies would be born in the year 2021, according to projections by the University of the Philippines Population Institute and the United Nations Population Fund.

Furthermore, BBC News reports that the said children would be born into hospitals already overwhelmed by 1.7 million births a year.

The Emotional Rollercoaster of a Pandemic Birth

“Before we were able to leave [for Carcar], I had the urge to pee. To my surprise there was blood on my underwear, so I told my mom,” Aileen said.

As Aileen knew that her baby was coming, she was rushed to the hospital but when they got there, they witnessed an endless line of patients outside waiting to be attended to. 

Fortunately, pregnant women were considered as the hospital’s top priority which made Aileen receive the immediate help she needed. She also shared that she already had a record in the hospital which made the process of her admission easier for her.

Upon entering the small labor room alone, Aileen found that only six people were allowed in the room: four pregnant women, including herself, together with one nurse and a midwife.

She shared that during that time, there were still a lot of people in the city who would get infected by the deadly COVID-19 which is why the hospital strictly imposed health protocols.

“We were told to wear facemasks, and I was extremely uncomfortable because aside from the contractions shortening my breath, the facemask was blocking my nose and mouth,” Aileen said.

With the hospital not allowing any visitors or caretakers to accompany patients in the labor room, Aileen was all by herself as she suffered five hours of painful and continuously intensifying contractions before she was finally able to push out her healthy baby boy.

After that air-grasping birthing experience, she was still not allowed to take off her mask upon being sent to the recovery room.

“Staff in the hospital was still limited in the recovery room. I was the only one there other than the janitor who constantly had to wipe the tiled floors, and spraying disinfectants on it."

The exhausting day was yet to come to an end, as Aileen was later sent to the ward where she was baffled at the sight numerous mothers with their loud-crying newborn babies in a one room.

Due to the hospital’s limited resources, some patients even had to share a single bed.

One terrible sight came after the other as Aileen found out that one of the mothers who gave birth in the labor room with her, tested positive for COVID-19 so the said mother and her baby had to be taken to an isolation facility. 

“It was even scarier when one of the moms who gave birth via CS (cesarian section) tested positive for COVID-19. The mother (later) died along with her baby in isolation.” 

Aileen later met up with her partner in the ward, but she felt sad at the thought that her mother could go inside to see her because the hospital only allowed one caretaker or visitor per patient in the ward.

Her heart ached even more once they were discharged from the hospital as she saw a huge number of pregnant women still waiting outside the hospital in the scorching heat.

“I heard that they were not priorities because they have no initial record in the hospital. I still feel bad for them.” 

Motherhood in the time of COVID-19

When Aileen had finally brought her baby boy home, she was highly concerned with possibly testing positive for COVID-19 because the hospital clearly had patients who were infected.

She shared that she continues to be cautious especially with people who want to meet her baby, saying that she tells them to sanitize themselves first before allowing them to touch the newborn.

She also instructed her partner to take a bath every time he comes home from doing errands outside.

“I took it to myself to immediately have a bath the moment we arrived home. Fortunately, I was careful enough that the nurses were confident I didn't get the virus at all. Me and my baby were both healthy and smiling so they had no reason to believe otherwise,” Aileen said.

On being asked on her thoughts about having a baby during the pandemic, she said that it was quite tough because she and her partner could not easily bring their child anywhere, even if they wanted to simply bring him to see their relatives who lived far away from them.

She shared that she needed to keep her child at home to keep him safe especially because as an infant, her baby is still vulnerable to different kinds of infections.

Nevertheless, she admits that she is still grateful and fortunate that she lives in a safe area far away from the highway, so they had access to an abundant supply of fresh water and air, something that was quite beneficial for her child.

In addition to making sure that she can protect herself and her child from COVID-19, Aileen made sure that she got herself vaccinated.

“I have already been vaccinated. And I would've gotten the vaccine even if I was pregnant but the DOH had released the go signal for pregnant women late September and I was already fully vaccinated then."

She also encourages pregnant and breastfeeding women to get themselves vaccinated because she could not bear to hear the sad news of another woman and child die after labor because of the virus.

“The vaccine gives a boost to your immune system, protecting both you and your baby. The mother I mentioned before who tested positive for COVID after CS (cesarian section) died along with her baby during isolation. I don't want something like that to ever happen again so please do get vaccinated,” Aileen said.

Postpartum Depression & the Best Advice

In terms of mental health and how giving birth has affected her personally, Aileen shared that she had gone through post-partum depression, a problem encountered by several women following childbirth.

She had multiple breakdowns accompanied by the stress and sleepless nights she went through during the first two challenging months of caring for her son. 

On her thoughts on motherhood being tough, she simply stated that it is already hard as it is, but the pandemic makes it even more difficult.

“…I was a hot head most of the time… I would often struggle with keeping track of the time and I would constantly just lie beside my baby with my head filled with everything and nothing at the same time,” Aileen said.

Aileen was asked on what her best advice would be for women who would get pregnant and give birth during the pandemic.

Many would think that from her experience, that advice would have something to do with contacting the hospital beforehand, preparing oneself mentally for not being able to have someone accompany you in the labor room, or ways to keep your baby safe; but it was nothing like that, not even close to what was mentioned.

Aileen simply said that the best advice she could give was, to not get pregnant at all.

Although she was lucky to have a great support system composed of her loving and understanding family and friends, she said that she is well-aware that not everyone is able to get that type of care and love from the people around them.

“Don't (get pregnant). I was lucky enough to have a very supportive family and friends who understood me. Not everyone gets to have that so I would tell them that if it's in a middle of a pandemic, use protection. It's way harder to be pregnant while fighting a deadly virus at the same time,” Aileen said.