From home to hospital: giving birth during the U.S. coronavirus outbreak

From home to hospital: giving birth during the U.S. coronavirus outbreak

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As a first-time mother with no idea what to expect, Nancy Pedroza was convinced the hospital was the safest place to have her baby.

That conviction turned to doubt when in late March most U.S. states ordered residents to stay home and hospitals and doctors began taking new precautions to protect pregnant women and their babies against the novel coronavirus sweeping the nation.

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Pedroza holds on to Morgan as she experiences contractions while taking a brisk walk with Nichollette Jones, her doula, to speed up Pedroza's contractions.

So, at 40 weeks pregnant, she turned to a midwife to help her have a home birth. She and her partner Ryan Morgan were about to become parents in the middle of a pandemic.

"Thing were changing so fast," said Pedroza, 27, who lives with her partner at her parents' house in Fort Worth, Texas. She had to go alone to all her visits with her obstetrician where before she had brought either Morgan, her father or a doula, a birth assistant.

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Pedroza lies on a bed in front of Jones, Taylor and Morgan as he helps to pump her breastmilk to try and speed up her contractions.

But what really scared her was the uncertainty of who would be allowed to stand by her side at the hospital when the baby came into the world. She would have to choose between Morgan and her doula. The hospital would allow only one and warned her the policy could change and it might bar all visitors.

"It was scary to feel like I might have to do it alone," she said, noting that the doctors and nurses were not the same as those who had supported her throughout her pregnancy. "It's nothing like having someone there that you care about and cares about you that's willing to hold your hand and tell you this is going to be OK."

. Fort Worth, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Pedroza attends an appointment with her licensed midwives Susan Taylor who checks her stomach, and Amanda Prouty in Taylor's home office at her house.

As COVID-19 puts the globe on pause and changes every aspect of daily life, women are entering motherhood with a mixture of anxiety, fear and frustration. Some countries, although not the United States, have banned everyone from the delivery room. Others are separating women who become sick from their newborns.

By early April, with her baby past due and learning Medicaid would not cover a home birth, Pedroza considered giving birth at home without any medical assistance.

. Fort Worth, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Pedroza experiences contractions.

She got in touch with midwife Susan Taylor on Facebook, who not only lowered her fee but offered up her own home when Pedroza's mother became uneasy about the idea of her grandchild being born in her bathroom or bedroom.

But Pedroza was running out of time. Legally the midwife had to transfer Pedroza's care to a hospital if she went past 42 weeks of pregnancy. A sonogram showed the baby's fluid levels were low, which can cause complications during birth.

. Fort Worth, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Pedroza is supported by Jones and Morgan as she experiences contractions while laboring.

After a membrane sweep, visit to a chiropractor, a brisk walk and using a breast pump to stimulate labor, the contractions started.

After laboring several hours in a birthing tub in Taylor's home, Pedroza started pushing but the baby's heart rate suddenly dropped from 130 to 30, so the midwives called an ambulance.

. Fort Worth, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Pedroza experiences contractions as she is placed onto an ambulance stretcher to be taken to hospital by paramedics.

Masked emergency workers put Pedroza onto a stretcher and wheeled her to an ambulance that took her and Morgan to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest around 1 a.m. Taylor rode with her in the ambulance, monitoring the baby's heartbeat.

. Fort Worth, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Pedroza is carried into an ambulance on a stretcher, to be taken to hospital.

But once at the hospital, her midwives had to leave.

"Once I got the epidural administered and calmed me down a little bit and realizing I'd still be able to do this myself without possibly having a C-section and hearing the baby's heartbeat on the monitor it brought me so much comfort that I didn't care I was at the hospital at that point," said Pedroza, who worked as a massage therapist before becoming pregnant.

. Fort Worth, United States. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare
Prouty watches 2-day old footage of the birth of Kai Rohan Morgan, recorded by his father Ryan, of Pedroza giving birth.

After laboring with a mask on for hours, at 5:55 a.m. on April 8 a healthy baby boy named Kai Rohan Morgan was born, weighing 8 pounds and 5 ounces.

The hospital gave her and Morgan masks to wear anytime someone entered their room. Some staff also wore masks and gloves when they helped with breast feeding and took their vital signs.

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Taylor takes two-day old Kai's temperature while checking if he has tongue tie, an oral condition that can potentially cause issues with feeding, during a newborn screening at the house of Kai's maternal grandparents.

"It's already kind of scary thinking that it's a possibility that you're going to be in an environment that is contaminated or that puts you at risk or your baby at risk," Pedroza said.

"What puts me on edge more is seeing everyone with that attire and being very adamant about wearing it."

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Slideshow

Pedroza has her stomach checked by Taylor, as she attends an appointment in Taylor's home office.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pedroza has her stomach checked by Taylor, as she attends an appointment in Taylor's home office.

Pedroza takes a brisk walk to try and speed up her contractions, with Morgan, Prouty and Taylor, near Taylor's home.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pedroza takes a brisk walk to try and speed up her contractions, with Morgan, Prouty and Taylor, near Taylor's home.

Pedroza is supported by Morgan and Jones as she experiences contractions while laboring at Taylor's home.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pedroza is supported by Morgan and Jones as she experiences contractions while laboring at Taylor's home.

Pedroza uses a breast pump to try and speed up her contractions.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pedroza uses a breast pump to try and speed up her contractions.

Pedroza embraces Morgan as she experiences contractions while labouring.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pedroza embraces Morgan as she experiences contractions while labouring.

Pedroza is supported by Morgan as she experiences contractions in a birthing tub.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pedroza is supported by Morgan as she experiences contractions in a birthing tub.

Pedroza holds on to Morgan as she experiences contractions in a birthing tub.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pedroza holds on to Morgan as she experiences contractions in a birthing tub.

Pedroza is carried on an ambulance stretcher to be taken to hospital by paramedics, after her unborn child's heart beat dropped while she was pushing during labor.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pedroza is carried on an ambulance stretcher to be taken to hospital by paramedics, after her unborn child's heart beat dropped while she was pushing during labor.

Pedroza holds her one-day old newborn son Kai, as she waits for  Morgan to get the car as they leave Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth, 36-hours after Pedroza gave birth.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pedroza holds her one-day old newborn son Kai, as she waits for Morgan to get the car as they leave Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth, 36-hours after Pedroza gave birth.

Pedroza and Morgan leave Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pedroza and Morgan leave Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth.

Prouty and Taylor conduct a newborn screening for Kai while wearing face masks.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Prouty and Taylor conduct a newborn screening for Kai while wearing face masks.

Taylor positions Kai for a photograph.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Taylor positions Kai for a photograph.

Pedroza and Morgan clip Kai's fingernails.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pedroza and Morgan clip Kai's fingernails.

Kai is positioned in the sunlight by Nancy Pedroza at the house of Pedroza's parents.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Kai is positioned in the sunlight by Nancy Pedroza at the house of Pedroza's parents.

Pedroza breastfeeds Kai alongside Morgan at the house of Pedroza's parents.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pedroza breastfeeds Kai alongside Morgan at the house of Pedroza's parents.

Pedroza breastfeeds Kai.
. Fort Worth, UNITED STATES. Reuters/Callaghan O'Hare

Pedroza breastfeeds Kai.