3 Ways COVID Affected Perinatal Experiences

 COVID-19 caused some changes when it came to my perinatal period. 

 

1. Job

I lost my job in March at Eldora Ski Resort in Colorado, where I was a cashier, but it was only supposed to last another month. That was a little upsetting, but not devastating. 

 

My husband and I made some last minute decisions and moved back to Phoenix at the end of April, which worked out well because I was able to work for DoorDash and GrubHub. 

 

Actually because of Covid, I did really well. It also helped being 7-9 months pregnant delivering food because people saw me and gave me bigger tips. One time I delivered Walmart groceries to a guy and he tipped me $50. 

I made an average of $25 an hour during those couple months before I gave birth. Restaurants were not open to dine-in and people were scared to leave their homes, it worked perfectly for the food delivery companies.

 

This is what I looked like when I delivered food to people.

2. Labor

A downside of COVID happened when I went into labor. Josh dropped me off at the ER entrance and they told him that he had to wait until I was admitted to come with me. It was an hour and a half to two hours that he was sitting in the car waiting to come in. 

 

I was in triage for at least an hour by myself having contractions every two minutes. There was no one there to help me focus on breathing and give me emotional support. It was a very lonely and challenging hour. Go to this post for the full birth story. 

 

You can see that I was happy to be in the labor and delivery room finally.

3. Appointments

 

I have had appointments that were supposed to be over the phone, but I was able to be seen in person for a couple of them. My postpartum appointment was going to be over the phone, but that didn’t make sense to me because I had a tear and I wanted to make sure it was healed correctly.

 

I drove down to the clinic and they called me right as I was arriving. I told the doctor I was already there and she asked if I wanted to be seen in person. I had to wait an extra 45 minutes, but it was nice to have full confidence that everything was healed.

 

At my son’s circumcision appointment, I noticed he wasn’t gaining weight like I thought he should. They suggested I see a lactation specialist. I called a lady that my OB recommended, but she said she wasn’t doing in-person appointments. 

This was taken right after we got home from that appointment; doctor's appointments always knock him out.

 

I started crying over the phone. I had been up since 3 am and was tired (before I read these books about sleep training) and I was nervous about my ability to provide what he needed to grow. She was so kind and offered to come to the house pro bono. Now I have her cell number and can text her all my many random questions regarding breastfeeding.

How has the Corona Virus affected your life? Tell me about it in the comments.