Living Through A Covid-Positive Pregnancy

Brut India

Despite many precautions, she tested positive for the coronavirus...when she was nine months pregnant.

Transcript

00:00in the month of March and I was in the 6th month of pregnancy.

00:03I just felt one report turned my life upside down.

00:06So I started telling my baby that don't worry,

00:09your mom is going to make sure that whatever I planned for you,

00:13that's going to happen.

00:19So this is my first pregnancy.

00:21Like any other couple, we were overjoyed.

00:23We were super excited.

00:25And the first thing we thought to ourselves is

00:28how we can make this journey as perfect as possible.

00:32Fifth month, we went hide, we celebrated baby shower,

00:35we had a good time with our family.

00:37We came back to Chennai and we were like,

00:39okay, so this is our time.

00:41We are going to enjoy every moment.

00:43And that's when COVID-19 started spreading in India

00:47in the month of March and I was in the 6th month of pregnancy.

00:51It was bad news because that's the time

00:54where you start feeling your baby kicks.

00:56You enjoy that emotionally

00:58and you learn that entire country is in lockdown.

01:02You can't go out, you can't walk in park,

01:05you can't go to any beach in Chennai.

01:07You just can't lead any normal life.

01:09You're restricted to home.

01:11The only place I used to visit 95% of the time

01:15was hospital for my checkup, which cannot be avoided.

01:18So I had my own kit.

01:20When I say own kit, even before packing my medical reports,

01:24I used to pack that kit with sanitizers, masks,

01:29gloves, disinfectant sprays, wipes,

01:31sprays to your hospital chairs,

01:34where I'm going to sit,

01:36wipes to clean the medical reports when others touch.

01:39So I used to pack all those well in advance.

01:42My husband is a pilot by profession.

01:44He won't be home for at least thrice a week.

01:49He keeps flying and due to pandemic,

01:52there was no change because he works for cargo airlines.

01:55So the first thing we did is we wanted

01:57to pre-board my delivery also.

01:58We wanted to plan the date.

02:00I didn't want it to wait for natural pains

02:02because with COVID in place and if he is not at home,

02:05I was really unsure if I can get enough support,

02:08if I get natural pain.

02:09So we wanted to plan a date, go admit

02:11and just get things done as much as structured way possible

02:16and come back home.

02:17So Chennai was in complete lockdown.

02:21You know how the cases were spreading in Chennai.

02:24I mean, the situation was really tense,

02:27but we kept calm.

02:28My baby was speaking very well.

02:30So finally, two weeks before my delivery date,

02:32actual delivery date, we went for a regular checkup

02:36and doctor said, everything is smooth.

02:38There is nothing to worry.

02:39We are almost close to the delivery date.

02:41And she told me that I need to get a COVID-19 test done

02:45as a mandatory guideline,

02:47which was set up by the government.

02:49And I was absolutely fine with that.

02:51Next day, I got the report and I was positive.

02:55It was devastating.

02:58Like I never ever expected in last,

03:02since COVID-19 has started,

03:04I never thought even for a 10 seconds

03:07that I might test positive.

03:10Because, you know, as an individual,

03:12you will be conscious for sure.

03:14But when you know you have a baby inside you,

03:16you are going to be extra conscious every single minute.

03:19Even before touching anything,

03:21allowing anybody to touch you,

03:22even the doctor or anything, you are always alert.

03:25I just felt one report turned my life upside down.

03:28I felt that my future and my baby's future was uncertain.

03:33Forget about what plans I had,

03:36but I was really worried about my baby.

03:39We were almost to the end of the journey.

03:42And I really cannot express

03:45what I've gone through that day.

03:47We immediately called my gynaecologist.

03:50We told her, I'm asymptomatic.

03:52I do not have any symptoms.

03:54If you get stressed out,

03:55if you get emotionally disturbed,

03:57there are high chances of you getting into a labor.

04:00So for me, my result, my worry for my baby,

04:03and I cannot express it emotionally

04:06because things will get more worse.

04:09So that was my state of mind.

04:11I can't even shed a tear.

04:13She told me very clearly,

04:14if you cry, you'll develop a sore throat

04:16and you may worry that it's one of the symptoms.

04:19You can't even come out.

04:20You'll be in home isolation.

04:22So how will you express?

04:23How will you get tested?

04:24How will you go for checkup?

04:25I literally controlled my tears.

04:28I brought back all my emotions.

04:31I went to the room, I isolated my husband, my mom,

04:34all of us went into three different rooms

04:37and we prepared for the next one week.

04:40First thing, when I isolated myself,

04:42I started talking to my baby.

04:45I felt I'm not alone

04:47because she's suffering along with me.

04:50So I started telling my baby that,

04:52don't worry, your mom is going to make sure

04:54that whatever I plan for you, that's going to happen.

04:58And I started telling her,

05:01only thing I need from you is kick me as much as possible.

05:04Keep interacting with me as much as possible.

05:07Every hour, whenever I eat, come down.

05:10So doctor told me to monitor five kicks in an hour.

05:13I said, you have to kick me at least 15 to 20 times, right?

05:17So that's when I know you are active.

05:19You are with me, you are healthy.

05:21And that's the only thing that's going to be positive

05:25inside this room for me.

05:27And to my surprise, my baby was hyperactive

05:29throughout that week,

05:31when compared to the entire pregnancy.

05:33I started checking which are the private hospitals

05:36that tied up with government to support COVID patients.

05:40I got a list of 10 to 15 hospitals in Chennai.

05:42I started dialing each number

05:44and 80% plus hospitals have disconnected my calls

05:48when they got to know I'm a pregnant woman.

05:51When I've gone through Tamil Nadu government site,

05:54I was super happy to see that every hospital list was there

05:58and they were displaying number of beds available.

06:02So I thought when they said number of beds available,

06:04that's for every COVID positive patient.

06:07When I called, I realized it's not for pregnant women.

06:11I came across two hospitals

06:13who were treating COVID pregnant women.

06:17And when I spoke to them,

06:19they told me that they'll be charging me four to six lakhs,

06:23anywhere between four to six lakhs

06:25and admission would be for five to seven days.

06:27And they said, you will have to come down next one hour.

06:30You will have to come down next one hour

06:32and you will have to admit

06:33because we will not wait for one week.

06:35You will miss your slot, you'll miss your bed.

06:38So you will have to come and admit today

06:40or latest by tomorrow morning.

06:42And nobody can accompany me, my husband, my family,

06:46nobody can accompany me to the hospital.

06:48And they'll be doing only C-section,

06:50not a natural delivery.

06:51So I had one set of doctors who were motivating me

06:55that if you do not develop any symptoms,

06:58nothing is going to happen to you, your baby and all.

07:01And I had one set of doctors who told me

07:03that you're going to lose your baby

07:06if you don't deliver in the next 24 hours.

07:08So I was confused.

07:10We all were confused.

07:12So that's when we thought, okay,

07:13we at least have alternate options.

07:15If there is an emergency, we will go to them.

07:18But till then, we will just continue to be home

07:20and we'll pray that we don't develop any symptoms.

07:23And that's what we exactly did.

07:25And that entire one week passed.

07:27On the eighth day, I got tested

07:30and it turned out to be negative as we all hoped for.

07:34And by God's grace,

07:36so that's when I went back to the same gynecologist,

07:39same hospital as I promised my baby everything.

07:43Like whatever room we wanted to go,

07:46whatever date we wanted to go for the delivery,

07:48everything happened as per that.

07:50And my ninth month scan, my baby was absolutely fine.

07:54And I don't know if I should call it a happy ending

07:57or a happy beginning,

07:58but just trust in your baby, just trust yourself.

08:01If you've come so far,

08:03if you got pregnant,

08:04if you have a life within yourself,

08:07that means you have superpowers.

08:09So you can easily overcome anything.

08:12So COVID is just a passing cloud.

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