REAL LIFE: “I didn’t plan on being pregnant during a pandemic”
A mum-to-be shares the anxiety she feels as she prepares to welcome a newborn into the world.
By Phoebe Celeste Olds
Where there is life, there is Hope. 💙
I didn’t plan on being pregnant during a pandemic.
I want to share publicly some of my experiences as an anxious, pregnant person during a pandemic.
Since the Opera came to an abrupt close, and the stage lights were switched off until further notice, my voice does not want to make an appearance. It is deeply connected to my emotional state, and although I know it will return – for now I am a songbird without a song.
There will be no baby shower, there will be no visitors, there will be no maternity shoots. So, this morning I got out of my pjs, put on a dress, and I took some photos. To remind myself that there is a lot of beauty in pregnancy – regardless of the madness around us. To show my boy when he’s older.
For Celeste, her pregnancy will go with out a baby shower, there will be no visitors and no maternity shoots.
Here I find myself 240 days deep into pregnancy – coming to terms with the fact that Violet won’t get to meet her brother in the first few days of his life while I’m in the hospital. That my parents will not get to meet him either. And that God parents to be, uncles, aunties, and friends may not meet him for many months after he is born. I’m coming to terms with the fact that I will be moved out of the usual “safety net” of the hospital very quickly and the medical and emotional support will be limited, because it is needed in different areas.
As much as I understand and support all of these measures – the emotional reality of it for me, is a hard pill to swallow.
The fact that people are hoarding baby wipes and baby formula, when I know in weeks to come my boy will need them, is scary. And I wish people would stop. It’s the simple shit that causes me the most anxiety.
READ THIS NEXT: Coronavirus and pregnancy: Hospitals crackdown allowing one support person in maternity ward
Under new hospital safety precautions, only one visitor is allowed in maternity wards. Celeste’s daughter, Violet won’t meet her baby brother until he comes home.
However, Where there is life, there is Hope.
This won’t last forever, and nothing will take away the beautiful gift that is pregnancy, child baring & raising children during these unprecedented times.
This is joy. This is beauty. This is a reminder that there are positive messages still coming through your news feed today.
This little boy will rise from the ashes and be born into a world of people who are starting to realise all the everyday privileges they took for granted.
Stay safe, love each other and stay the f*ck home.
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