Baby on board: Three women share their experience of giving birth during the pandemic

Michelle Groome with sons Oscar and Archie. 

When Michelle Groome drove into Dublin for her first antenatal appointment at the National Maternity Hospital, she says that the city centre resembled a zombie film. She found out she was expecting her second child at the end of February 2020, when there were whispers about a virus from China. By the time she was 13 weeks’ pregnant, the country was in the grip of our first lockdown.

Archie was born on October 20. Groome’s experience of pregnancy was very different second time round.

Initially, she was apprehensive. “Pregnant women weren’t on the HSE’s list of high-risk people because it wasn’t known how they may be affected by coronavirus. I didn’t want to put myself at risk. I got used to social distancing, hand sanitising and wearing a mask. It became part of your routine and going in and out of the hospital was the same.” 

Groome went to all her medical appointments on her own because her husband Mark wasn’t allowed to join her. At that first one, she says that “there was nobody else in the waiting room the entire time I was there. I was just sitting in an empty waiting room looking down an empty hallway.” 

The midwife allowed Groome to record the baby’s heartbeat while she was doing the ultrasound so that she was able to play it back for Mark.

It was a similar situation for her 20-week scan. It was at this stage that the couple had discovered they were having a boy when she was pregnant with her first son Oscar. “It was lovely to find out but it was a little bit deflating because I had nobody to share it with in that moment. I was obviously very lucky that everything was fine. The whole way through the fact that it was my second pregnancy was a huge help.” 

Because she had developed a liver condition, cholestasis, Groome was in the hospital on a weekly basis from week 32 of her pregnancy. This familiarity helped to ease her apprehension about the thoughts of going through labour without her husband by her side.

She was induced on Tuesday, October 20. “Mark was only going to be allowed into the hospital once I went into actual labour, so we made the choice for him not to be sitting outside in the car for hours waiting.” 

Groome went into labour at 4pm that day and everything moved very quickly. By the time Mark arrived in the hospital, their son Archie was in his mother's arms. He had been born just 10 minutes previously.

Mark was devastated, says Groome, but thankfully the three of them got to spend quality time in the delivery suite afterwards and she is grateful her midwife was such a reassuring presence throughout her labour.

ON EDGE

Sarah Niland with husband Douglas, son Finn and daughter Elodie. 

Sarah Niland is also extremely grateful for the care she received throughout her pregnancy with her daughter Elodie, now seven weeks. Like Groome, Niland discovered that she was pregnant during the country’s first lockdown.

Niland says that the spectre of Covid “really put me on edge”.

She was already nervous. She had miscarried during her first pregnancy and had had fertility treatment before conceiving her son Finn, who is aged two. “Nobody knew if Covid could impact an unborn baby, so that made me take the restrictions very seriously.

"In many ways, the pandemic made it easier to be pregnant this time around. Having my husband at home to take care of our toddler during my first trimester was a blessing. I was exhausted and had bad morning sickness all day long,” she says.  

Though due on December 4,  Niland’s waters broke on the night of November 28. “Knowing that I would be going into the hospital by myself this time made me extremely scared and anxious.

“It’s very hard to focus on something during labour, but when you have your person there, they can ground you and help you to remind you why you are actually there.

“My husband dropped me at the door of Galway University Hospital. My contractions were really intense, it was awful not having your person there to lean on, squeeze their hand or to help calm me down. The midwives were amazing though."

Elodie was born by caesarian section at 1.45am on November 29.

"After Finn was born, I suffered from postnatal depression. I was terrified that it could happen again. I wasn’t sure if I would be strong enough mentally to be by myself all day in hospital, and I was worried how I would take care of a newborn after a section.” 

But she says that “the midwives went above and beyond. They fed my daughter when I was too weak to do it. They made sure I was feeling okay. Anytime I had to use the call button they showed up with a smile on their face.” 

She advises other expectant mothers to try as stay as positive as possible. She felt lucky that her husband could come in for an hour a day, and she tried to embrace her time alone with Elodie. “We were in our own little bubble."

EARLY ARRIVAL 

Aoife Halpin with her son Kobe. 

During most of Aoife Halpin’s pregnancy, Covid wasn’t on her radar. Her son Kobe was due on April 13 but then her waters broke at 33 weeks, and four days later Kobe was born on February 28 in Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital.

At the Rotunda, all babies born before 34 weeks go straight to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Halpin knew that Kobe would have to stay in the hospital until he was at least 34 weeks. She says “the first week went swimmingly”. 

She and her husband Mal spent every day with Kobe. “There were Covid cases in Ireland, but there was nothing massively on our radar.” 

However, she says that during Kobe’s second week, they were told that only parents of NICU babies would be allowed to visit the hospital.

She began to worry that they might be turned away one day. “On March 12, the head nurse came in and told us all that as of the next day, no fathers could come in.”

 Halpin and her husband took a positive approach. “Mal said if I’m not allowed in, then straight away, they’re cutting 50% of the visitors to the NICU and that’s a good thing.

“Because Kobe’s feeds had to be measured, I would express milk and bring it in. My husband said: ‘You’re bringing in the milk, they have to let you in’. So I’d bring in milk every day even if he didn’t need it.” 

On March 19, at 20 days old, Kobe was allowed home. He was still three and a half weeks before his due date. “We would have liked to stop off at my granny’s on the way home, but we had to go straight home and close the door."

Halpin says maternity hospitals are doing their best in challenging circumstances. They’re trying to protect you and your baby. Once you get home and have the baby with you, everything else is forgotten about. It’s all worth it at the end of the day.”