Am I being too sensitive about doctors COVID statement?
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Anonymous
She didn't say that. She said "that now is not a good time to be pregnant." I interpret that as a comment about the challenges of COVID, just like someone might say that now is not a good time to start college. If my OB said that to me, I'd probably agree. |
Anonymous
That may be the case, but unless you want me to get an abortion, I don't see the benefit in telling someone that. |
Anonymous
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Your OB has poor bedside manner. This will likely extend to other things throughout your pregnancy, so either you will need to grow a thick skin ( tough to do while pregnant) and just filter her words for important medical stuff, or switch to an OB with a gentler touch.
You can convey a serious message, and get the receiver to take themessage seriously wihout coming across as an ahole and stirring undue stress in a pregnant woman. |
Anonymous
If my OB said that I would probably agree and then say something like" but here I am." just as a reminder to check herself and her manner. |
Anonymous
The flip-side to that is that the very liberal telework policies make this a very good time to stay home with an infant without burning through all of your leave/FMLA. I don't really understand that earlier comment about being worried about everything. From your own perspective, you'd be worried about COVID regardless of whether you had an infant. The new factor is the infant herself/himself, and COVID seems to be less risky for children than the flu. So from the child's perspective, it's sort of like having a baby in the winter- perhaps not ideal health-wise, but not something most people get too worked up about. |
Anonymous
You clearly haven’t read up on the virus in infants. |
Anonymous
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/babies-mysterious-resilience-to-coronavirus-intrigues-scientists/ |
Anonymous
And it sounds like someone else is being very selective about what they're choosing to read. No one is saying there's no risk. But the risks appear to be on par with influenza. That's not trivial, but people don't make a big deal about having a baby in the winter. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
| As someone who was pregnant during this whole thing and now has an infant during this it isn’t good time to be pregnant. That’s just a fact. Both my pregnancy and my maternity leave were nothing like I envisioned and we’re mostly spent inside our house other than for doctors visits. It’s not shaming someone to make that clear at the outset so they understand what they’re dealing with and can manage expectations. As someone who thought they’d be having a normal pregnancy it was tough coming to terms with what being pregnant and delivering during COVID meant- no baby shower, no spouse at doctors visits, no spouse at sonograms, no family or possibly spouse at the hospital for delivery, delivering alone, no visitors once baby’s home, no one getting to meet baby other than a select few, no going to stores or restaurants, not seeing anyone other than my spouse for the last six months, being CONSTANTLY anxious about catching it and what that would mean for fetus. It was also tough to go for months with no one really having an answer about the possible ramifications for pregnant women. If I was just getting pregnant now I’d want my doctor to be straightforward with me so I could be informed and prepare myself for how different things were going to be versus what I might have been expecting. |
Anonymous
I',m sure your OB will be delighted to be rid of you. |
Anonymous
NP, but it is not on par with influenza during pregnancy. COVID has a higher hospitalization rate. If I get a severe case of COVID, and end up having severe respiratory problems toward the end of my pregnancy, it could be very bad for the baby. Sure, I may not be more likely than the general public to get a severe case, but there's two of us whose lives must considered. Severe respiratory problems and low oxygen levels can be dangerous for the baby, and not just the pregnant mother. |
Anonymous
I’m curious about where you’re reading up on ? Can you post? I have a 4mos old. Our pediatrician was quite reassuring actually. Certainly no one wants to get it but she said the data is not giving them additional alarm with infants. This thread is annoying to me. It’s very hard to be pregnant during Covid. For many many reasons. I know bc the world turned upside down when I was 32 weeks pregnant and I did indeed give birth without my husband. So perhaps let’s just try to support others going through a tough time. OP - my OB was similar to yours and I didn’t mind it bc it was the truth. If this manner bothers you, I would think about switching. In the end when I was just with my Ob and not my husband giving birth, he was amazing and I’m grateful for his support, but he was always straight forward with me Without coddling me. What I realized is that these Obs are also going thru this unprecedented time and don’t have a ton of data .... it’s also not the easiest position. |
Anonymous
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Although rare, children under age 2 appear to be at higher risk of severe illness with COVID-19 than older children. This is likely due to their immature immune systems and smaller airways, which make them more likely to develop breathing issues with respiratory virus infections.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-in-babies-and-children/art-20484405 We aren’t talking about the goddamn flu here. |
Anonymous
Nail on the head here. I’m about to deliver. I think a lot of these posters who are minimizing the experience of being pregnant and postpartum now are just women who are wanting to be pregnant, are women had kids a million years ago and are trolling these threads (why I don’t know), or are just newly pregnant and aren’t really in the thick of of. I cannot explain the stress of pregnancy now. Here’s what it looks like to be almost delivering now: we have kept our older kiddo socially isolated because my pregnancy is high risk and he has asthma. So a kid who was quite social and independent pre COVID hasn’t been cared for by any other caregivers other than his parents for 6 months and is now more clingy and dependent on parents. Now, in the last 2 weeks, we have had to arrange masked social get togethers outdoors with our emergency contacts for when I go into labor. These are good friends of ours but he hasn’t seen them this year and doesn’t remember them - and of course we all are wearing masks and trying not to get close so it’s not exactly comforting for him. He’s scared for us to leave him with one of these friends when I have this baby. And just allowing him to be watched means we have to open up our family to another person whose social distancing/safety protocols we don’t really know and who we have to trust unless I want to deliver alone. Then we are all risking exposing the grandparents and vice versa when they come to help with the newborn and older child after I deliver. I’ve considered having no help but I had raging PPD last time And have been cautioned against total isolation for my own mental health. So the upside of having family means I have to worry about me, my baby, and my partner getting COVID at the hospital and potentially exposing my parents (who are high risk) to it. I’m just getting started here on how things are different this pregnancy. And sure, maybe we will all be fine. Maybe we won’t. It’s impossible to say. But the ongoing stress of COVID on top of a normally stressful and challenging situation (pregnancy and birth) should not be understated. It’s one thing to think about risks for adults or older children with developed immune systems. It’s very different when you have family members who are vulnerable and high risk, by virtue or age, race, or health conditions. I’ve never had to worry about accidentally infecting and killing a loved one with a virus before, and this is the new world we are in. So all this to say don’t just dismiss those of us living in the reality. I wish I could be pregnant until a vaccine is here just to keep this baby safe. |