“Raphaël was born on March 21, 2020. This is my first child. Today, I am still in the maternity ward, because my baby suffers from jaundice, which for the moment does not pass despite the treatments. I can’t wait to get home, even though here everything went very well and the care was great. Can’t wait to find Raphael’s dad, who cannot come to visit us because of the Covid epidemic and the confinement.
I had chosen this maternity level 3 because I knew I was going to have a somewhat complicated pregnancy, for health reasons. I therefore benefited from close monitoring. When the Coronavirus crisis began to spread in France, I was about 3 weeks before the end, scheduled for March 17. At first, I didn’t have any particular concerns, I told myself that I was going to give birth as we had planned, with my partner by my side, and go home. Normal, what. But very quickly, it got a little complicated, the epidemic was gaining ground. Everyone was talking about it. At this point, I started to hear rumors, to realize that my delivery would not necessarily go as I had imagined.
The birth was scheduled for March 17. But my baby didn’t want to go out! When I heard the famous announcement of confinement the night before, I said to myself “It’s going to be hot!” “. The next day I had an appointment with the obstetrician. It was there that he told me that the dad could not be there. For me it was a huge disappointment, although of course I understood that decision. The doctor told me he was planning a trigger for March 20. He confessed to me that they were a little afraid that I gave birth the following week, when the epidemic was going to explode, saturating hospitals and caregivers. So I went to the maternity ward on the evening of March 19. There, during the night, I began to have contractions. The next day at noon, I was taken to the labor room. Labor lasted almost 24 hours and my baby was born on the night of March 20-21 at half past midnight. Quite frankly, I did not feel that the “coronavirus” had an impact on my delivery, even if it is difficult for me to compare since it is my first baby. They were super cool. They just sped it up a bit, not in relation to that, but in relation to my health issues, and because I’m on blood thinners, and had to stop them to give birth. And to make it go even faster, I had oxytocin. For me, the main consequence of the epidemic on my childbirth, it is especially that I was alone from the beginning to the end. It made me sad. I was surrounded by the medical team of course, but my partner was not there. Alone in the work room, with my phone not picking up, I couldn’t even keep him informed. It was hard. Fortunately, the medical team, the midwives, the doctors, were really great. At no time did I feel left out, or forgotten because there were other emergencies linked to the epidemic.
Of course, safety measures were strictly enforced throughout my delivery: everyone wore a mask, they washed their hands all the time. Myself, I wore a mask while I was having the epidural, and then when I started pushing and the baby was coming out. But the mask did not reassure me completely, we know very well that the zero risk does not exist, and that the germs circulate anyway. On the other hand, I did not have a test for Covid-19: I had no symptoms and no particular reason to worry, no more than anyone in any case. It is true that I had inquired a lot before, I was a little in a panic, saying to myself “but if I catch it, if I give it to the baby?” “. Fortunately everything I had read reassured me. If you are not “at risk”, it is not more dangerous for a young mother than for another person. Everyone was available to me, attentive, and transparent in the information I was given. On the other hand, I felt they were preoccupied by the prospect of a wave of sick people that was about to arrive. I have the impression that they are understaffed, because there are sick people among the hospital staff, people who cannot come for one reason or another. I felt this tension. And I’m really relieved to have given birth on that date, before this “wave” reached the hospital. I can say that I was “lucky in my misfortune”, as they say.
Now, most of all I can’t wait to get home. Here, it’s a bit hard for me psychologically. I have to deal with the baby’s illness on my own. Visits are prohibited. My partner feels far from us, it’s hard for him too, he doesn’t know what to do to help us. Of course, I will stay as long as it takes, the important thing is that my baby heals. The doctors told me: “Covid or not Covid, we have patients and we are taking care of them, don’t worry, we are treating you. It reassured me, I was afraid that I would be asked to leave to make way for more serious cases linked to the epidemic. But no, I won’t leave until my baby is healed. In the maternity ward, it is very calm. I don’t sense the outside world and its concerns about the epidemic. I almost feel like there is no virus out there! In the corridors, we do not meet anyone. No family visits. The cafeteria is closed. All mothers stay in their rooms with their babies. It’s like that, you have to accept.
I also know that even at home, visits will not be possible. We will have to wait! Our parents live in other regions, and with the confinement, we do not know when they will be able to meet Raphael. I wanted to go see my grandmother, who is very ill, and introduce my baby to her. But that is not possible. In this context, everything is very particular. ” Alice, Raphaël’s mother, 4 days
Interview by Frédérique Payen