For many moms, giving birth can be stressful under normal circumstances. But giving birth during a pandemic has added a whole new level of anxiety
Hospitals around the world are tightening the restrictions on how many visitors can accompany patients in the delivery room and expectant women have had to decide whether their doulas or their spouse would be with them during birth.
This week, it was reported that some hospitals in Thailand are putting plastic face shields on newborns to help protect them against the coronavirus. Photos were released from a hospital in Bangkok where newborns are being fitted with tiny visors and while the images are oddly adorable, they are heartbreaking at the same time. Because the fact that we need to do this is devastating.
BBC Thailand reported the face masks are part of efforts to give new mothers at the hospital “peace of mind.” Seems like there’s just no peace of mind these days, especially when you have given birth during COVID-19.
In a post on Facebook, the hospital reiterated that these face shields were for a “unique case” just for the babies’ journey home from the hospital and are not usually given to all newborn babies in the hospital. “Because safety is what we care about the highest,” the post said.
According to the CDC, a newborn baby is susceptible to person-to-person spread of coronavirus. “A very small number of babies have tested positive for the virus shortly after birth,” the CDC says on its information page about pregnancy and breastfeeding. “However, it is unknown if these babies got the virus before or after birth.”
The Getty photos above were taken through a glass window in the hospital’s maternity ward.
