4 Birth Stories that Show the Strength of Families During Covid-19
Covid-19 has impacted all of our lives in so many ways. I can’t even begin to count the days that I’ve cried about the changes for myself or my family. But families who are pregnant and about to give birth are facing their own challenges. Their birth plans have changed, their birthing location may have changed, they may not even be able to have their partner present for birth, they can’t have the full support of their birth team and there are covid tests, virtual appointments, solo appointments, solo ultrasounds and the list just goes on and on! I’ve held space for 10 families through this time as a doula and photographer, and the needs of each client and their births have been vastly different.
The last birth that I was able to attend was in the hospital in early March. My client went into labor right before things were shifting and starting to lock down. The hospital was on-edge, the nurses were unsure, there were some covid ‘jokes’, but I don’t think anyone really know what was going to happen.
I could feel the energy shift, even in the birth space that day - the week prior was not the same.
When we walked the halls to get labor started, I remember thinking that this might be the last time I’m able to do this for a while….and, unfortunately it was. Two days later, the hospital was locked down. I am SO grateful that my client had her baby when she did! But for the families who had their babies after March 15th….it was not the same story.
When the hospitals closed, families who hired a doula and/or photographer on their birth team, found that they couldn’t have them in the birth space. I’ve had to come up with so many different ways to document my clients journey, along with supporting them in this emotional and uncertain time and space. I’ve sent my camera with my clients to document their own birth while I’ve been on speaker phone or text as I offered doula-support. It’s hard, but manageable. Eentually things have to change. Birthing families need support. They need their doula or extra support person. Not everyone can afford a doula, but everyone should be able to have someone else besides their partner.
Birth is hard work, and having your team is paramount in a positive birth experience. Especially during a pandemic! The amount of anxiety and fear that my clients express is heartbreaking. Covid isn’t going away, and we should be working to keep birthing families safe, emotionally and mentally - as well as physically.
Here are four families brief birth stories. They are SO strong, and handled the changes that were thrown at them so well, it was incredible to watch their perseverance.
This client birthed her first baby very quickly. She texted me shortly after I woke up that contractions had started and a short time later, she said it was time to come. I was loading up the car, when her midwife texted and said, ‘come now!’ I drove the hour to her house and grabbed my camera and mask as I ran up to the house. Their family was waiting anxiously on the porch - for the news that the baby was here. I asked quickly, ‘is she still pregnant?’ (I was SURE I’d miss it) and then quickly heard the familiar labor vocalization of someone who was about to give birth. I ran inside and fortunately had about an hour before their son was born.
Home Birth of Twins
This was an incredible birth right in the middle of a pandemic! This family was welcoming twin boys into their home. It was the first time that I’d wore a mask at a birth, and I remember feeling very hot and confined. But then we got into the rhythm of birth as the family worked together to bring their twins into the world. I was amazed watching Liza birth her boys, she had confidence and strength and birthed like a goddess.
My dear friend and amazing midwife Celeste Gronenberg attended the birth - Gentle Mama Holistic Midwifery.
Hospital Birth of Twins
These dear clients might have had every-single-thing thrown at them during the end of their pregnancy with twin boys. First, they were unable to have their birth team with them, which was hugely important to them. Next, they were giving birth to twins, as first time parents (that’s hard enough, amiright?) - in the middle of the pandemic, which was at it’s peak in Michigan. The hospital was really tightly locked down.
The family had to have an induction which wasn’t planned, and in the middle of it all - dad passed out. Yep. Poor guy passed out. Hit his head and ended up in the ER, in the middle of their induction. After getting checked up and a covid test, he was back to support his wife hours later. How stressful this all was, and without a doula or additional support person, it was even harder. Super dad made it back from the ER to support his INCREDIBLE wife who delivered their twins vaginally. She rocked her birth, even though so many things didn’t go as planned. I continue to hold space for this family as they navigate their new life as a family of four.
This birth was the very last hospital birth that I attended. It was just a few days before the world really shifted in the United States. It was long - and beautiful and well supported. Her husband, mother and myself spent the evening and night offering conversation, jokes, foot rubs and love. It was beautiful.
Hospital Birth in the Beginning of Covid-19
There was so much joy in the room when they met their son for the first time. As I left that night, I hoped this wouldn’t be the last time I stepped into these halls. But it was.
Birthing families need support. They deserve to have their birth team present. The staff also deserve to be SAFE in their work space as well. I want hospitals to know that every birth that I attend, I’m doing so with the hearts and minds of my clients at the core. People who choose doula or photography do so because they see birth as something MORE. I can say that nearly every client that I’ve ever worked with in 8 years respects birth, they think birth is amazing and they believe documenting it is more than a pretty picture. They support from their doula is way more than hip squeezes. It’s a friendship and trust that develops over time - it’s evidence based and unbiased support.
This is hard. This is hard for everyone. It’s the hardest for birthing families. Let’s try to listen to them and meet their needs as much as we can. This is still about them, and this is still about (one of) the most incredible days of their lives!
