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CORONAVIRUS
Pregnant women face new challenges during COVID-19 outbreak
Most hospitals now allow only 1 person in birthing, postpartum patient
room
By AIMEE BARROWS – abarrows@shawmedia.com & KATIE
FINLON – kfinlon@shawmedia.com
March 28, 2020

Photo provided by Kelsey Villalobos

Caption

Photo provided by Alexa Cunningham

Caption

Photo provided by Kelsey Villalobos

Caption

Photo provided by Alexa Cunningham

Caption

Photo provided by Kelsey Villalobos

Caption

Photo provided by Alexa Cunningham

Caption
As a public service, Shaw Media will provide open access to information
related to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) emergency. Sign up for the
newsletter here

Alexa Cunningham of Harvard said even she, an expectant mother, didn’t

take COVID-19 seriously at first.

She said her fellow co-workers at Harvard Junior High School, where she
teaches, were saying that she shouldn’t come to work as Illinois schools
still were considering shutting down – concerns that she initially brushed
off, telling her co-workers that she’s fine.

With ordered closures from Gov. JB Pritzker, Cunningham said her first
thought was whether her baby shower was going to be canceled.

“And as time went on, that became the least of my problems,”

Cunningham said.

Hospitals around Northern Illinois are putting strict no-visitor policies in

place during the COVID-19 outbreak, and that includes labor and delivery
units. In most cases, expectant mothers can only have their spouse or
one support person with them, meaning other children and grandparents
will have to wait to meet the newest addition to the family.

Northwestern Medicine, which includes Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb,

Delnor Hospital in Geneva, Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield and
Huntley Hospital in Huntley, on Tuesday announced that no visitors are
allowed in both inpatient and outpatient units, with the exception of
pediatrics, neonatal intensive care unit and birthing rooms.

The biggest change that pregnant women will experience is only one
person is allowed to be with them before, during and after delivery.

“People can be asymptomatic [for the coronavirus] for quite a few days
before developing symptoms, so they could spread the virus before they
know they’re ill,” said Dr. Lori Hardy, OB/GYN at Northwestern Medicine
Central DuPage Hospital and Delnor Hospital.

Mary Shilkaitis, chief operating officer for Rush Copley Medical Center,
said the Aurora hospital also has similar visitor restrictions in place for
expectant mothers as Northwestern Medicine. In light of those more
stringent guidelines, she said, the hospital has been encouraging more
use of video calls so first-time grandparents, for example, still can feel
invited into those beautiful moments.

“So while it is different, we’re doing our best to invite them in in other
ways,” Shilkaitis said.

Although Hardy said she has not had a pregnant patient test positive for
COVID-19, the mother and baby would have to be separated if that did
happen.

“The recommendation is to keep them separated until the mom is

cleared, but I have not had that happen yet. Not every pregnant woman
gets a test when she’s admitted for delivery,” she said. “Pregnant women
are more at-risk for respiratory viruses because their immune systems
are less strong so their bodies don’t reject the baby.”

Hardy said that pregnant women still are able to get C-sections, and
there is no change to prenatal care in her physician group as most
patients, especially those in the later stages of pregnancy, need to be
seen in-person so doctors can hear the baby’s heartbeat and take the
mother’s blood pressure.

But she’s seeing an increase in anxiety among her patients, because the
new parents are nervous about what they should be doing when they
return home.

“People are feeling a little isolated, and pediatricians are recommending

[new parents] restrict visitors at home after the baby comes,” she
explained. “Current studies we’ve seen, and there aren’t many because
[COVID-19] is so new, don’t show that the virus is transmitted to the
baby in utero. It can be transmitted to the baby by close contact after
birth.”

Cunningham is 33 weeks pregnant, and with her baby due May 10, she
said the plan is to deliver her firstborn at Northwestern Medicine Huntley
Hospital. She said her husband still can attend doctor’s appointments
with her, and the plan is for her husband to be in the delivery room – but
she trusts her doctor and understands why the visitor restrictions are in
place.

Cunningham said she hopes her husband will be able to stay in the room
with her by the time the baby comes.
“The thought of going through pregnancy for nine months and having to
deliver a baby alone is terrifying,” Cunningham said.

Kelsey Villalobos of Plano is about

34 weeks pregnant and plans on having her baby delivered at Rush
Copley Medical Center in Aurora.

She said COVID-19-related concerns have taken away a lot of the

excitement of her first pregnancy. Never mind the baby shower canceled
for everyone’s health, including the baby’s, Villalobos said. She has new
worries to consider, such as whether she’ll be able to get baby formula if
she’s not able to breastfeed, obtaining enough diapers or everything else
the baby needs by the time it’s born.

“It definitely keeps me up at night now,” Villalobos said.

Cunningham said she has felt a little guilt lately for being so concerned
about her and the baby’s well-being amid the outbreak – especially since,
all things considered, she is healthy. She said the extra precautions for
hospital visitors make sense, but it doesn’t make it any easier for her and
her husband, who have been trying to have a baby for a long time.

“It feels [like we’re] being robbed of these special moments because the
COVID-19 crisis happens to be going on right now,” Cunningham said.

Villalobos understands that people are dying because of the coronavirus

and said she’s lucky that she still can work from home. However, she
said, it doesn’t help whenever people try to dismiss her concerns as an
expectant mother.

“We’re just scared, and just be a little bit mindful of how you speak to
pregnant women at this time,” Villalobos said.

Cunningham said she is hopeful that relatives and friends – who have
been nothing but supportive during this time of added uncertainty, she
said – are able to come around to visit after the baby is born without the
added COVID-19 infection risk. She urges everyone to keep following
guidelines given by health professionals, such as social distancing and
washing hands, so that the virus hopefully can run its course faster.

“Because if this virus is still out there like it is now, [those visits are] not
going to happen,” Cunningham said.
 RELATED LINKS
 Amid pandemic, Illinois moves to expand vote-by-mail for 2020

general election

 COVID-19 in Will County: 94 more cases, 4 more deaths

 AP-NORC poll: 60% of Americans say widespread testing, use of

facemasks needed to reopen

 Detective, nurse, confidant: Coronavirus contact tracers play many

roles
 Pritzker announces loosening of restrictions on businesses,

restaurants, outdoor activities in Phase 3 of Restore Illinois

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