Pregnancy is an unsettling time for any woman – now imagine that on top of coronavirus anxiety.
On top of the very real health worries, his statement also raised another concern: that of social distancing. The Prime Minister advised that all of those in the most at risk category shouldwherever possible for up to three months. In pregnant lady terms, that’s a long time. At 18 weeks pregnant, it meant I could be almost eight months pregnant by the time I was able to socialise with friends and family again.
Luckily, as a freelance journalist, it’s fairly easy for me to stay at home and self-isolating is nothing new to me – I generally work from home and can easily go a couple of days without leaving the house even in normal circumstances. I can’t even imagine how scary it must be if you’re a pregnant woman for whom working from home simply isn’t an option, or if you have other children that you need to look after.
Then there are the antenatal classes. I’ve already signed up for a local group where I’ll learn things like how to feed the baby and what to expect from labour, but really I only signed up to meet women in my area who are having a baby at the same time as me.
There are, of course, plenty of financial fears too. My husband and I have been squirrelling away money to prepare for the baby’s arrival and get ready for the fact that, as I’m self-employed, I will only receive statutory maternity pay when I go on leave. My husband is the main breadwinner in our household, but if the country goes into full lockdown like Italy, there is a very real possibility he will be forced to go onto statutory sick pay, which, at £94.
And then the other night, as I sat down to watch the news for the latest crisis update, something amazing happened. It was the tiniest feeling, barely perceptible, but definitely there: I felt the baby kick. And just like that I remembered that, ultimately, we have a lot more to be hopeful for than fearful about.
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