“You are a child of the COVID pandemic. When we wake you up from your crib, you look at us with such electric excitement that it is impossible not to start each day with love. You have shown us how to surrender to stillness, to stand together through fear, and to see the beauty in every moment. You are our reason to play and dance and keep smiling.”
‘You are an excuse to be goofy at a time when the world is not. You are chubby-cheeked hope for the future, a constant reminder that life goes on.’: Dad shares ‘fairy tale’ IVF birth, ‘All that matters is the family we choose’
‘Will my husband stay at home and miss the birth?’ My contractions were 8 minutes apart. I was shrieking in pain.’: Mom births baby during pandemic, ‘We pray we can all embrace again’
“Our parents cancelled their flights. We debated what to do. With each contraction, I started cursing for my husband. I needed him. In a movie-worthy scene, my husband arrived, breathless, as I dug my fingernails into his hand. Being in the midst of a pandemic while becoming a mother is something I truly never anticipated.”
‘I went to the hospital in labor. All the doors were locked. Our baby decided to come early. We escaped with a ‘normal’ birth experience by the skin of our teeth.’: Mom grateful son’s birth timing was ‘untainted by the coronavirus’
“I held my breath on the way out. Within 24 hours of our arrival home, the L&D ward where we had our sweet boy changed all their restrictions. Had he come one day later, my 4-year-old daughter wouldn’t have met her baby brother at the hospital. All those special moments would have been put on hold, lost forever. We hit the curve of timing by the skin of our teeth.”
‘Please don’t take him away from me.’ We were wiping down our phones, scrubbing our fingernails with hot soap. We put on gowns, gloves, and masks.’: Mom births 24-week-old miracle micro-preemie
“‘He’s breathing.’ That’s the first thing my husband, Myles, said to me as the doctor delivered our 1 lb. 14 oz. baby via emergency C-section at only 24 weeks. The nurses were running to his bed to manually pump breaths into his lungs. I went to the ER fully prepared to not hear his heartbeat. But every time I thought he was gone, there he was, his heart beating away.”
‘Today I cried with you as you checked in, full of tears, because your family could not join you. I know it’s the hardest thing in the world to be doing this alone.’: Labor and delivery nurse says ‘we will be your biggest cheerleaders in these uncertain times’
“Right now, labor and delivery units are on strict isolation, only allowing one or NO guests (not even the baby’s other parent) to visit during labor, delivery, and postpartum time. We want your cheering section to be standing at the window when we open it to show off your new baby. But what we want more than anything, is a healthy mom and baby. We are hurting almost as much as you.”
‘It’s time to check on your pregnant friends, too – because their babies will be born, even if the rest of the world is shutting down.’: Birth doula urges to expecting moms ‘you are NOT alone, don’t let fear win’
“Preventing a birthing person from having their support team with them – not even a spouse, but ALSO not their doula, trained and contracted to provide them with emotional and physical comfort – is traumatic and brutal, plain and simple.”
‘Sexy is a 20-minute bath while Daddy watches the baby. Sexy is lifting up other women and never being too smart to learn something new.’: Woman challenges definition of ‘sexy’
“I’m tired of girls being led to believe they’ve got to pucker their lips, stick out their butt, flash some cleavage, and put seven filters on their face to feel cute. Sexy is working hard and understanding your strength. It’s understanding the world doesn’t revolve around you. It’s accepting your weaknesses and asking for help. Don’t limit yourself to six pack abs and booty bands.”
‘Let’s get it over with. Your twins will be born and die.’ She denied me pain medication. I was banned from seeing them because it was a ‘waste of time.’: Mom births twin preemies after pressure to let them die, ‘They can and WILL thrive’
“21 weeks pregnant with my twins, I noticed a tiny smear of pink blood in the bathroom. The doctor spoke cold and matter-of-factly. ‘This is going to be quick. Your babies will be born and die.’ She wouldn’t let me hear their heartbeats. ‘I refuse to start labor again.’ As long as they were inside me, they were safe. When a new doctor randomly walked in, were gone in seconds. I yelled to my sister, ‘Call my husband!’ We were racing down the highway to save their lives.”
‘I told the nurse, ‘Tie my tubes. I’m done, I don’t ever want to do this again!’ I begged my fiancé to find another woman. ‘I just can’t do it, I’m sorry.’: Woman births rainbow baby after still birth, 3 miscarriages
“At 18, I’d miscarried 3 times. Here I was, at risk of losing another baby. My OB said, ‘Your plan was to have a baby and bring a baby home. I know you still want that.’ Each month, I counted his kicks the way kids count raindrops on a car window. I texted my mom, ‘I can’t do this. What if I’m making a mistake?’ It was go time. I closed my eyes as tight as I could, clenched my teeth, and pushed.”
‘I don’t want to, please don’t make me do this.’ I begged them to knock me out and cut me open.’: Woman gives birth to baby born sleeping, ‘I wondered if I’d ever pull myself out of the darkness’
“As soon as the wand hit my belly, we all knew. ‘I’m so sorry.’ In one breath, she let us know I needed to make my way up to Labor and Delivery. I’d already lost 2.5 liters of blood and it was not slowing down. I turned to my mom and said, ‘I am just so tired, all I want to do is sleep.’ I heard one of the doctors say, ‘We WILL NOT take her uterus’ and then I was out. The next thing I knew, I was waking up. The nurse handed him to me. Perfectly formed with 10 fingers and toes, no heartbeat.”
