Pregnant in a pandemic

Is this normal? Am I doing everything I should be? Am I making the correct healthy choices? Is this pregnancy weight, or put-that-third-cheeseburger-down weight? These are some of the typical questions I, as a pregnant woman, will ask myself throughout the day. Now, factor in a worldwide pandemic with mandatory self-isolation to your already running list of questions and fears, and you have my new normal.

The number one pregnancy concern for me is whether or not my baby is healthy. It’s something I’ve thought about multiple times throughout a regular pre-COVID day — including the evening after I left the doctor and heard that the baby is, in fact, healthy. 

Even though I know I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing and avoiding the things I’m supposed to avoid, I still constantly question whether or not everything is ok. This constant questioning is magnified thanks to the pandemic.

One of my newest concerns is the lack of physical exercise I now have. My pre-COVID self did a decent amount of walking and standing throughout the day. Now I spend 98% of my day on my butt. Yes, ok, I really could go outside and walk around, and even force myself to try running again, but the question of whether or not it’s worth the health risk of potentially crossing the virus is still present. After all, I do have an exercise bike in my house, and walking past that numerous times a day burns some calories.

Right?

Fighting back the fear 

To combat this fear, I have started keeping track of what I am eating as a way of making sure I am not overdoing it with the constant snacking — and that I am consuming some vegetables (at least one vegetable) throughout the day. I even get on that exercise bike at least once a day too!

“Since the virus is so new, studies can only show its impact on pregnant women and their fetuses happening in real time.”

Physical health, including eating right and exercise, is a typical pregnancy concern no matter what else is happening. However, COVID-19 brings a new threat that is the worst of all... the threat of the unknown. 

The unknown 

Since the virus is so new, studies can only show its impact on pregnant women and their fetuses happening in real time. There are no definite answers as to whether or not a pregnant woman can pass the virus on to the fetus, and if pregnancy makes a woman more susceptible to the virus. 

The best advice doctors can give pregnant women is to avoid any situation that could potentially put us in contact with COVID-19. This is far from helpful. 

Not everyone has the luxury of being able to work from home and still be paid their full salary. Not everyone has a partner they can send on errands. And unless you have a doctor that makes house calls and your own ultrasound machine (how is there not a plug-in device and app for that yet?), you are going to have to venture to the doctor’s office for a routine check-up at some point. 

“First-time pregnancies are something women have to learn on their feet. The same goes for coping with COVID-19.”

Personally, I will be asking my doctor if I can delay what should be my next monthly check-up to avoid having to take the three trains or a Lyft it usually takes to get to his office. Is the potential exposure really worth the risk to what has been a very routine and healthy pregnancy so far? 

I hope not.

First-time pregnancies are something women have to learn on their feet. The same goes for coping with COVID-19. We all have to do the best we can with the situations that we are given. We have to work to keep ourselves sane in our new worlds —  keep ourselves informed, trust our instincts to be safe and healthy, and learn to embrace our new home-bound, introverted selves.