Families forced to change their behavior for fear of infection
Unprecedented experiences for mothers and babies born during lockdown in Spain
Pregnant women were unable to walk outside the home due to the procedures. Archives
Mothers follow healthy procedures in dealing with their newborns. Archives
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If our children's birthday has always been unique and memorable, then when it occurs during lockdown, it must be a historic event. Bruno, Miguel Angel and Lotto all came to this world during the most difficult months of the epidemic. Now, they get their first vaccinations and pediatric checkups, and like all newborns, they are starting to explore their environment.
It's clearly different; A reality that still appears to be a fantasy, visits are restricted and hugs and kisses are restricted to relatives. And now, in the calm after the storm, the parents of these children talk about their unique experience.
"The situation that these families went through during the lockdown period, from March to June, was completely surprising and abnormal, and it was accompanied by a feeling of uncertainty and danger," said the president of the Spanish Society of Obstetrics Psychology, Jessica Rodriguez. In addition to the fact that the lockdown doubled the incidence of postpartum anxiety and depression, it produced a severe reaction to what was already a very stressful event, and there are a large number of cases of intense emotions. Rodriguez adds, that we must now look for "anything that might upset the emotional balance of the mother, and assess whether the symptoms disappear or persist."
On May 3rd, Barbara and Pablo welcomed their son, Lotto, to the University Hospital of Puerta de Hierro, in Madrid. The mother says: “When you are suddenly told that you cannot go out in the last period of pregnancy, while you must move, but do so at home, and that there will be no preparation for childbirth, and that the midwife will not check the progress of your pregnancy.” Going for the tests on my own and I was very tense, ”adds Barbara,“ The nurse told me that the child was fine, and the last time, they gave me the coupon and sent me home. ”
Rodriguez says: "During childbirth, a woman needs constant support, from specialists, but above all, from her husband, who is the main supporting character for her." The fact that fathers were unable to enter the delivery room was one of the most common concerns among medical teams.
Miguel Angel was lucky enough to have his son, also called Miguel Angel. The child's mother, Carla, says: “Two weeks ago, they did not allow anyone to enter.” Continuing, “We knew that he (her husband) would be able to be there, at the last moment, and we were in lockdown for two months, and we started to fear the worst, and everything suddenly stopped ».
Fortunately, babies are not yet aware of the strangeness of the environment in which they were born. In fact, they will likely realize just how weird it is when they get older and see pictures of the first months of their lives. They will no doubt wonder why their grandparents always wore masks, and did not take them in their arms, and why there were so many bottles of hand sanitizer everywhere, where everyone washes their hands frantically. Only then will they realize just how surreal their first impressions of the world are.
The new normal is not what they envision for themselves either, and even less so now, when the disease appears to be spreading again.
Carla and Miguel Angel are still taking the same precautions they took during the lockdown, and the wife says: "With a small child, it is difficult to return to the normal life that we used to live before," adding, "We are afraid that we will get infected, and something will happen to the little one." We keep shopping online, and we wear masks when we go out for a walk with the baby. Relatives carry it in their arms, but with masks. Relatives who come to our house must bring clean clothes. As soon as they reach inside, we sterilize everything. ”
In another story, Susanna and David spent the first two months of their son's life on regular hospital visits, where he had to undergo surgery, a month after his birth. Although the Galicia region was less affected than other regions by "Covid-19", hospitals dealt with many cases, and any visit to the doctor was a risk.
Special criteria
Spain's Ministry of Health has issued general information and guidelines for pregnant women during lockdown, and each hospital and center has created its own standards based on these guidelines. The doctor at Puerta de Hierro Hospital, Tereso Perez, explains, in a comment on the matter: “Things have changed a lot from day to day,” as about 700 pregnancies were dealt with, between April and May, 90 of them were Corona cases.
"We have worked with the available scientific evidence," he added, adding, "There were three basic procedures: The first was to test all pregnant women in labor; The second is to establish a floor in the hospital for pregnant women affected by the epidemic. Finally, we decided to keep the children with their mothers and to implement special precautions. ”
Fortunately, babies are not yet aware of the strangeness of the environment in which they were born. In fact, they will likely realize just how weird it is when they get older and see pictures of the first months of their lives.