I delivered my baby during the covid-19 pandemic. Here’s my story

It is a phenomenal feeling to become a mother! Nothing in my life has given me more joy than holding my baby in my arms. But the journey leading up to that moment wasn’t easy–I was giving birth during the covid-19 pandemic after all.

I had to take a whole lot of precautions and necessary measures while delivering during this time. Naturally, it made me anxious. To make matters worse, I had some complications in my pregnancy, for which l had to be under constant observation at the hospital.

My doctor was my rock
During the entire process (and the escalating tension), Dr Bharati Kamoji was by my side through and through. She helped me gather all the strength and encouraged me to think positively, which later helped me have a smooth delivery experience.

Even when she wasn’t by my side physically, she would regularly call and talk to me. She was constantly in touch with me over texts and WhatsApp messages, which gave me and my family a lot of support. I don’t know how I would have delivered without her.

I brought my baby home with the support of my doctor and the hospital
Delivering a baby is just the beginning of the journey. Caring for the baby–while caring for your recovering body–especially during those first few months of their life, now that’s the really complicated part.

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In order to avoid any kind of post-pregnancy complication, the hospital fraternity provided me with tutorials on how to care for myself and the baby, along with medical support of course. It’s the small things that really count you know. Like for instance, when I was in the hospital, they ensured I drank a lot of water.

To be honest, I feel lucky that I had a reputed hospital near my house. This made the experience of delivering during the pandemic much easier for me. I shudder to think, what would have happened if I didn’t have their support. Pregnancy can be stressful, and this time of lockdown does incite panic.

Yes, I had Google by my side. A lot of information is now available online, about the kind of milk powder to use and practices I should adopt to make my home baby proof. But how do you trust everything online right?

Even though I couldn’t visit my doctor as I normally would have had the pandemic not taken over our lives, my doctor was kind enough to assure me whenever panic struck and ease my tension.

To be honest, I am still dealing with the covid-19 scare 
Once I brought my baby home, I had a lot of questions about how I can protect him from covid-19–especially while breastfeeding. What if my baby got covid-19 because of it, right? But Dr Kamoji told me how to maintain the right hygiene at home; things like the right way to use hand sanitizer every time before I held the baby.

With her guidance and consultation, I have been able to successfully breastfeed my child and ward off any post-delivery complications. Bringing a baby into this world is not easy, and this pandemic is making it even more difficult. But I managed, fighting the panic and focusing on the joy that my little bundle has brought me.
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This story is submitted by Chethana Jayanth, who recently delivered a baby in Bengaluru’s Aster CMI Hospital, under the guidance of Dr Bharti Kamoji, senior consultant, Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the hospital.