8 Months Pregnant April 2020 Â
It’s Friday at 6:30 pm and I’ve drawn an Epsom Salt bath in hopes of soothing the physical aches and pains of being 8 months pregnant along with the emotional distress of pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the warm water surrounds my limbs and back and circles around my giant belly, I watch my stomach roll and protrude as baby Louis moves about. How magical it is to experience life growing inside you. I place my hands on my baby’s kicking feet knowing he senses me and tell him out loud, “One more month baby. I’m so excited to meet you.”
I’m overflowing with joy and anticipation for my baby boy to come into my life but filled with sadness at the same time. Tears trickle down my cheeks as I try to stay strong for both him and I. My Dr informed me at my 36 week checkup that my hospital will be making my husband leave the premises after I get transferred from the labor and delivery room to the recovery room due Cedars-Sinai’s attempt to limit the amount of people in the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. This news came as a complete shock as I was blissfully unaware of this new regulation. My Dr and I, both wearing protective masks, and her in plastic glasses, shared a moment of heartache. I removed my mask for a moment and reached for a tissue to wipe my nose and eyes in effort to regain my composure. After my exam she lended her bare hand to help me move from a laying position to a seated one which, is no easy task with a large pregnant belly, as if to say without words “This is my way of comforting you, I understand your heartache.” I haven’t felt this sort of human connection from an “outsider” in over a month of this Shelter in Place situation in Los Angeles.
I try to remove my focus on the disappointing reality of my newborn baby and me being sans daddy post birth, as I soak in my bath, but my mind is still trying to make sense of this all. Welcoming my baby boy into this world as a new mom without the support of my husband by my side for the first few days of baby Louis’ life is far from what I envisioned. I reflect back on my meditation and manifestation practice I started when I became pregnant and force myself to dry my tears and focus on positive thoughts in hopes that the protocol will change in one month.
8.5 Weeks Pregnant May 2020
In efforts to rid myself of feeling completely helpless, overwhelmed and quite frankly scared, my husband Paul and I decided it would be best to gather information and put a plan in place in order to feel more in control of giving birth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If I could offer any advice to help ease the minds of other expecting parents out there I’d suggest these 7 Labor & Delivery Planning and Pregnancy Self Care Tips that my husband and I followed:
7 Labor & Delivery Planning and Pregnancy Self Care Tips
- Stay updated on the news but limit the amount of media you watch so it doesn’t consume and overwhelm you.
- Check in with your doctor for hospital updates as regulations can change at any time pending the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in your city.
- Contact friends or family who work at hospitals to get insight and support.
- Have a plan and a backup plan. Lots of women right now are considering home births so their partner can remain with them throughout the baby’s labor and delivery as well as to limit contact with other people to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection.
- Ask your hospital what safety measures they have in place to help put you at ease.
- Keep your immune system up by taking organic prenatal vitamins like Garden of Life Organic Prenatal Multivitamins and eat organic to limit toxins in your body.
- Meditate to keep a healthy mind and limit stress on you and your baby. See my previous blog post on 5 Ways to Maintain Mind and Body Health While Pregnant
9 Months Pregnant May 12, 2020
On May 12, the day before my due date, my husband dropped me off at Cedars-Sinai for my last prenatal doctor appointment. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic he wasn’t able to attend any of my checkups since the beginning of March. My doctor also had to cancel a few of my prenatal appointments in efforts to limit the amount of people going in and out of her office. Luckily I was nearing the end of my pregnancy otherwise, I would have been nervous missing several appointments. I had a stress test scheduled for my last check up before labor and delivery to ensure the baby’s heart rate was healthy. After monitoring my results, the doctor noticed baby Louis’ heart rate and oxygen levels were dropping frequently with my contractions. She was quite concerned and gently informed me it was time for me to get my hospital bag and head to L&D to be induced. It was no longer safe for the baby to wait for a natural birth. I was shocked, scared and extremely worried about the health of my baby. Tears welled up in my eyes yet again and my doctor was left to console me the best she could. Crying in the doctor’s office was becoming all too commonplace and unfortunately, I had to be strong enough to pull it together on my own without my husband by my side.
As I waited at the doctor’s office, my husband Paul scurried about the house, gathering last minute items we needed for the hospital. Shortly thereafter, he picked me up and we headed a few buildings over to the labor and delivery wing of Cedars-Sinai. This was it, the big moment we had been waiting for finally had arrived! It was time to meet our son Louis!
Upon entering the hospital, Cedars-Sinai had the following COVID-19 safety precautions in place:
- Temperature check
- Hand sanitizing
- Face mask wearing
After Paul and I passed through the COVID-19 check we made our way to the front desk. It was there that we received the greatest surprise and the best news a pregnant couple could hope for during this global pandemic. With the grace of God regulations had recently changed since the Shelter in Place was lifting in Los Angeles and my husband was able to remain by my side in the hospital for my labor and delivery recovery period. Wohoo!
The following hospital rules were in place for expecting mothers checking in to L&D:
- Limit to one guest
- Guests cannot leave the hospital at any time during labor + delivery and recovery or he/she would not be allowed back in
Hospital regulations during COVID-19 vary per state and seem to flux depending on the amount of cases in that particular state. My sister, who lives in TX, was required to take a COVID-19 test and receive a negative result in order to be admitted to the hospital for her labor and delivery in June. This is a good reason to have a backup plan in case you have no symptoms but receive a positive test.
Throughout my L&D I didn’t worry about our safety against COVID-19 not only because focus number 1 was getting this baby safety delivered but also because every nurse and doctor took safety precautions and honestly the L&D wing was not very busy.
My Labor & Delivery Story May 13, 2020
The hospital staff at Cedars-Sinai was beyond amazing. My labor lasted 20 hours and baby Louis’ heart rate and oxygen were dipping the entire time. My contractions were strong and close together leaving the baby little time to recover. The doctors and nurses treating me grew increasingly nervous as did I. They considered giving me medicine to slow down my contractions to let baby Louis’ heart rate and oxygen intake return back to normal. The medicine would cause my heart rate to go up creating a side effect of anxiety and it would push back the delivery time. I didn’t feel comfortable with this option and the nurse could tell. It was crunch time this baby needed to either get his levels stabilized or he needed to be delivered stat! I mentioned to the staff that I was meditating as much as I could throughout labor to calm my nerves. The lovely labor and delivery nurse made the call at the 19th hour mark to give me 20 minutes to both let me do some deep breathing to gather my mental strength and to monitor the baby one last stretch so we could all make a decision if it was slow down time or go time. These 20 minutes were crucial for my mental strength and I felt blessed to have had this particular nurse assigned to me at the last stretch of L&D. I could tell she was spiritual herself as she guided me to talk to baby Louis and let him know he was safe. I am very grateful to this particular nurse as labor was extremely traumatic for me due to the baby’s condition and I needed to mentally prepare myself for Louis’ delivery.
Twenty minutes were up, and the decision was made that we had a maximum of thirty minutes to deliver baby Louis. If I couldn’t deliver him in 30 minutes then I would need a c-section. The nurse gave me some time to practice pushing and then the entire doctor and nurse team came in for the final stage of delivery. A vacuum assist was needed to deliver Louis and he entered this world!
The doctor immediately put Louis’ wet body on my chest as I closed my eyes and waited for a cry. Seconds felt like minutes and he didn’t make a noise. I kept talking to him in my mind, “Cry baby cry. Please cry,” I pleaded. With my eyes still closed, I felt two hands lifting baby Louis off my chest to intervene. As the doctor started to pick him up I finally heard that magical crying squeal from my sweet boy’s mouth. “Thank you Lord,” I whispered as my hands desperately clutched around Louis. My husband leaned in to kiss the baby and me and just like that my whole world changed. My heart is so full!
I am beyond thankful that the protocols at Cedars-Sinai kept my family safe during Labor and Delivery so my husband and I could focus on the most important thing, delivering a healthy baby boy! I honestly could not imagine being a new mom and going through the first few days of recovery without my husband’s presence.  I know that many other women giving birth during the COVID-19 pandemic are not as fortunate as I was, and I feel for them. Giving birth and bringing new life into the world is by far the most wonderful experience a woman can have and going through it alone would be mentally and emotionally challenging. I sympathize with all the families that were not able to have their partner by their sides for the birth of their babies or to be with the mom during recovery.
For all the expecting moms out there, I hope you will find my 7Â Labor & Delivery Planning and Pregnancy Self Care Tips helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic. Make sure you have a good support team and keep worrying and stress to a minimum so you can focus on that beautiful life you are creating.
Special Thank You to all the nurses and doctors at Cedars- Sinai. My husband and I were impressed by the level of care we received while bringing our beautiful baby boy Louis into this world.
This story is dedicated to my grandmother Carol Fendone who passed away the day after Louis was born.  Louis is named after my grandfather and brings joy to my family during this difficult time. May you rest in peace Nana 5.14.20Â
