Pandemic mums three years on - how life is for women who gave birth during Covid
The early days of Covid were terrifying for mums-to-be, who had to juggle looking after their newborns with lockdowns.
We spoke to mums across the country about the joy and drama of pregnancy and birth during the pandemic.
And today, on Mother’s Day, we catch up with those mums for an update.
He’s my 7th child so it is mental.. but all good
Zoe Green, 38, lives in Colchester, Essex, with her seven children, Fin, 22, Jude, 19, Eden, 14, Roman, 10, Betsie, eight, Nellie, five, and Joss, three.
I had already been isolating for two weeks because of being pregnant and having asthma when I started having contractions and went to Colchester Hospital. But then my labour stopped.
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It was three weeks before my planned C-section and I was about to be sent home when a matron explained that from that point onwards the pandemic meant that no visitors would be allowed on the wards and partners would only be allowed at the birth. I went home on a mission to get my labour going before the hospital got any worse.
Zoe with three-year-old JossThe next day I actually did a YouTube labour-inducing exercise video, bounced on my ball every chance I got and went for a long walk, as well as eating pineapple and a hot curry. Then I went to bed with my fingers crossed.
I heard my waters pop in my sleep at 3:30am. Our son, Joss Henry Craig Green, was born at 6:37am weighing 7lb 12oz. I was only in hospital for 24 hours before we both came home.
I was the last one on the ward which was lovely as I made friends with the canteen lady who gave me extra food!
With Joss being my baby number seven when I took him home it was all a bit mental but all good! He fitted in with the other six who all helped out with cuddles, nappy changes and feeding.
He started pre-school aged two but he wasn’t, and still isn’t, keen on going and would rather spend 24 hours a day with me. He’s a proper Mummy’s boy! Again, I think that’s because he was so used to being at home with me and his siblings during lockdown.
Joss was a bit of a later talker. I don’t know if it’s because he wasn’t around other children much in those early months because of the pandemic.
He is having tests to establish if he’s got a hearing problem.
Mother’s Day will be relaxed, I’ll visit my mum with the children.
They’ll all make cards at school and now the older ones buy me flowers and chocolates which is lovely.
'I tricked my sister into giving her baby a stupid name - she had it coming'
I’m going through a divorce but we are putting children first
Jodie, 34, lives in Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, with her children, Reggie, four, and Rosie, two.
From the moment we were put in lockdown, I was anxious about giving birth. When my contractions started at 5am on April 1, I went to Darlington Memorial Hospital. I never expected the labour to progress so quickly.
I made my way up to the maternity ward on the sixth floor, however the baby didn’t want to wait – she was halfway out when we were in the lift!
Jodie cradles Rosie in hospital (Collect Unknown)
Jodie with Reggie and RosieI managed to hold her until we got to the double doors of the maternity ward and baby Rosie was delivered in the corridor. A nurse took off her cardigan and wrapped Rosie in it.
Rosie weighed 7lb 12oz and was healthy, however I was very nervous because of the pandemic. Rosie’s dad was only allowed to stay a little while and we went home after just 12 hours.
Maternity leave was very strange. It was a lot more isolated and lonely than when I was off with Reggie. There weren’t any baby groups to go to or coffee mornings for new mums.
The children’s dad had to work so I was home with Rosie and an 18-month old. It was very hard. I craved adult interaction.
I separated from Rosie and Reggie’s dad in July 2021 and we’re currently getting divorced. It’s very amicable and we remain friends. We work together parenting the children. He is a great dad.
Rosie’s happy at nursery and doing well, however she’s a little behind on her speech. I’m not sure if that’s because of Covid and the lack of interaction.
But overall she’s doing really well and loves being outside, playing with her brother and her toy kitchen.
This year I’ll be celebrating Mother’s Day with my partner and his little girl as well as Reggie and Rosie.
A lot’s happened... Rudy was the pageboy at our wedding
Laura Wilkinson, 27, lives in Ferryhill, County Durham, with husband, Brad, 29, their son, Rudy, two, and their dog, Lucky.
I had planned on having two birthing partners when I gave birth to my first child – my boyfriend, Brad and my mam, Sharon.
So I was gutted when two weeks before my due date in March 2020 I found out that due to the pandemic, I could only have one.
On April 1, Brad was with me at Darlington Memorial Hospital for seven hours until finally, at 5.13pm, our son Rudy was born weighing 8lb. It feels like a lot’s happened in the three years since.
Laura with Joss during the Covid pandemic (Collect Unknown)It broke my heart knowing that Mum and Dad didn’t hold Rudy for nine weeks after he was born. They were still going to work and I was so worried about Covid.
That June, we were still in lockdown when me and Brad put Rudy into the buggy and went for a walk at a local park.
Unbeknown to me, Brad was going to pop the question. But his plans were scuppered when the heavens opened and we had to shelter under trees. When we got home, he got down on one knee and presented me with a gorgeous white gold diamond ring as Rudy was laying on his mat, watching.
Then my parents came round. It was very emotional because it was the first cuddle I’d given them in ages.
We married last April, surrounded by friends and family and Rudy was a pageboy. He wore a little three-piece suit and dickie bow and looked so cute.
We were keen to expand our family so, last December, we got an Old Tyme Bulldog called Lucky.
Rudy’s coming up to three now and he’s into trains, cars, and anything that moves. He makes us smile every day.
He’s incredibly close to my mam and dad and sees them every day because they help with childcare so we’ll all spend this Mother’s Day together.
It’s harder second time around but the twins are so good
Angela Ahmed, 39, lives in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, with partner, Chris Kerr, 52, and her sons, Jamal and Kia, both 20, and twins, Trent and Tallulah, two.
I started suffering from stomach cramps on March 31, 2020. I was 30 weeks pregnant with twins so I went to Royal Worcester Hospital and expected to be sent home with paracetamol. Instead I was 10 centimetres dilated and they were ready to be born at just 30 weeks. Scared, I called my partner, Chris, who raced to be with me.
Our twins were born later that day. Trent at 2.50pm weighing 2lb 13oz and Tallulah at 3:21pm weighing just 2lb 7oz.
Angela Ahmed with her family
During the pandemic, Angela gave birth to twins Tallulah (pictured) and Trent (Collect Unknown)Initially we were allowed to see the babies separately and then I was isolated but Chris and I only had contact from a distance as he was isolated at home with my elder sons.
The twins needed oxygen because their lungs weren’t fully developed and they were in NICU for two months. I stayed with them as I was breastfeeding, but then when they were 12 days old a lack of spare beds meant that I was discharged and was forced to leave the babies in hospital.
It was heartbreaking leaving them but I was allowed to visit them every day from 8am until 11pm.
They finally came home on May 3. It was very strange bringing babies home in lockdown because I had no health visitor coming round.
The twins didn’t get checked until they were seven months old but fortunately they were developing well and gaining weight.
Now Trent’s prone to coughs and colds because his lungs weren’t as developed as they should have been. He likes to play alone but Tallulah likes to play with him all the time.
Trent’s also waiting for speech therapy but is on the waiting list which seems to be very long since lockdown, so I’m not sure when he’ll be seen. He can speak but not as well as Tallulah.
The twins keep me young and active, and this Mother’s Day we’ll be spending it together as a family and I couldn’t be happier.
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