Having a Baby during Covid
Parent Q&A
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We have a two month old, and we are navigating having visitors over. All of our adult family members are vaccinated, but we do have young nieces and nephews who cannot be vaccinated yet. Understandably, both adults and kids want to see and hold the baby, but we have continued to be pretty cautious even with the adults. We are wondering how other parents of newborns are handling this issue both with the vaccinated adults and the unvaccinated kids? Do you have different rules for indoors and outdoors? And is there a source where have you been getting your guidance on this issue?
Jun 20, 2021Second support person allowed in L&D?
–Mar 2, 2021Hi! I heard from a local Facebook Doula group that Alta Bates will start allowing a second support person in the delivery room starting 3/2/21. Does anyone know if this is true? My Dr was not able to confirm. Thanks!
Mar 2, 2021Ultrasound clinics that allow partners - know of any?
–Feb 1, 2021Is anyone aware of any ultrasounds clinics in the East Bay (or even in the entire Bay Area) that are currently allowing partners at appointments? We are due for our 20 week ultrasound in a few weeks and would love to find a clinic that would allow both of us to attend.
Thanks in advance for any tips!
Feb 1, 2021Birth prep/newborn care classes during covid?
–Dec 13, 2020We're due with our first child in April and though I've heard great things about birth prep classes for Natural Resources and Then Comes Baby from pre-covid times, I haven't seen much feedback about how well those classes have adjusted to online instruction. Anyone have any insight? We're hoping to find classes that do their best to replicate the personal connections of an in-person class (as much as is feasible and realistic these days). Thanks in advance!
Dec 13, 2020I have multiple questions about prenatal and birth visitors/visitation in the East Bay:
-Are any obstetrics (OBGYN) offices in the east bay allowing partners in for appointments at this time?
-Are any hospitals allowing Doulas and/or Midwives to the birth at this time? Any clarification for what will happen next summer (July 2021)?
Thanks for sharing your experiences in advance!
Dec 8, 2020Recent Experiences at Kaiser Oakland L&D?
–Aug 15, 2020Hi,
I am due in late September and likely will be having a C-section. I’m wondering if anybody has given birth at Kaiser Oakland recently (past couple months) and would be willing to share what the experience was like given Covid. I’m concerned about catching Covid at the hospital (though my OB has assured me she feels safer there than at the supermarket!) and the many new Covid-related policies (e.g., my husband will have to stay with me the whole time, no in-and-out privileges).
I’d be so grateful for any firsthand knowledge or experiences! Thanks!
Aug 15, 2020Alta Bates birth during Covid19
–May 12, 2020Hi, wondering if anyone here has given birth at Alta Bates during Covid19 times and would be willing to share what it was like? We're due in a few weeks and have all kinds of questions, like if we'll be allowed to leave the room at all, if a mask will be required during labor, how my partner will get food, etc etc.
Thanks so much!May 12, 2020Childcare during childbirth with shelter in place?
–Apr 8, 2020Hello,
We are due with our second end of June, and have a one and a half year old. We had already arranged with her home-based daycare that when I went into labor, our first born would stay there until we got back from the hospital as she would be the most comfortable spending the night/extended days there. However, with COVID, she's no longer going to the daycare as we're not essential workers (though they're still open and serving essential workers). If shelter in place is still happening in June/July, do you know if I'm still able to send her to the daycare just while I'm in labor? Not sure what the procedure is for childcare for medical reasons...(note, we don't have family in the area).
Apr 8, 2020I am giving birth this week to my first child and have not secured childcare. Originally, my husband and I were going to start looking in March and take our time through the process. I'm an educator and my husband is self-employed so we have some flexibility, and were hoping to secure something by July. With Covid 19 and California's shelter-in-place order I'm not quite sure how to navigate this at all. We are mostly interested in a nanny share. Thanks for any insights!
Apr 4, 2020Sleep consultant for infant - video or phone consultation
–Mar 31, 2020Hello,
We have a 5-month-old baby who used to sleep through the night (6.5-7 hours) and suddenly can’t stay asleep longer than 2 hours (sometimes as few as 20 minutes) without being held. We don’t know if it’s the sudden change from being in daycare to being sheltered in place, or just a normal developmental thing, but as two working parents trying to figure out life in the corona virus-era, we’ve come to the place where we are looking for help. Thought I’d post here to see if any parents have recommendations for sleep consultants (or things to look for/avoid).
If you’ve worked with someone before and liked them, who did you work with and what did you like about them? How long did you have to work with them before seeing results? Also, guidance on the going rate for sleep consultants?
Any help is appreciated. At this point, we’re looking for someone who will do video and/or phone consultations.
Thanks!Mar 31, 2020Lactation consultant with virtual visits?
–Mar 28, 2020Hi, I have a 3 month old and we're having some new breastfeeding challenges. I'm wondering if anybody has a recommendation for a lactation consultant that does virtual visits in the Berkeley/Oakland area? I'd like to avoid close contact if at all possible given the coronavirus precautions. Thank you!
Mar 28, 2020Childbirth at Kaiser During Covid
–Mar 20, 2020Hello,
I am looking to connect with other pregnant women who are planning to deliver at Kaiser Oakland between April and July. I am due end of June. Hoping to support and educate others about our experiences during these changing times. I haven't found my OB to be very helpful as she is new to Kaiser and learning the system. I'm not interested in a paid support group but connecting with other woman face to face on video conference. Many thanks.
Mar 20, 2020
So I don't have a newborn yet, but will in October. Our plan is only vaccinated persons can hold baby. Any unvaccinated person must keep their distance and wear a mask around baby. I do not plan to have unvaccinated people go unmasked around baby even if we are outdoors. It feels too risky to me. I don't have any specific sources to cite, but I've just been following the CDC and taking a more cautious approach. If you have Instagram, I highly recommend checking out @pedsdoctalk she is a pediatrician who discusses COVID a lot and is also super practical about the reality of everyday life. I also like @kinggutterbaby she is an infectious disease specialist who has been working with COVID closely, she hosts really approachable Q&A sessions about COVID on her page and breaks down all the new research. Finally, there is a FB group called Coronavirus (COVID-19) Support for Bay Area Families, its a really respectful group to ask questions and people only share valid research articles there. Hope that helps! Congrats on the new baby!
I found this write-up in the NYT super helpful about how low risk kids are (even infants!).
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/18/briefing/kids-covid-and-delta.html
However, if you are still going to be cautious, I'd recommend doing an outdoor thing. NYT also had a great write-up of how it's pretty much impossible for Covid to spread outdoors:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/briefing/outdoor-covid-transmission-…
Also, I always made sure people didn't even have the sniffles when coming over and of course, everyone washes hands! :-)
My daughter is 8.5 months old, so we had to navigate the newborn phase in a totally unvaccinated state. We were very strict. Post vaccine—must be vaccinated to hold. Pre-vaccine: must quarantine for 2 weeks.
Inside only with one other household. Outside with no more than 5 households. We’ve been very strict about other people holding her—only grandparents if other family are there. It’s hard, but even vaccinated people can transmit and it’s just not a risk we want to take. We spend a lot of time weighing the benefits and risk. At the moment, we’re in a pandemic window, so we’ve been a little looser. But with the delta variant on the rise, we’re preparing to reign it in again.
We have a two month old as well, we’ve only let limited vaccinated close adult friends and family hold him both indoors and out, and have been able to avoid taking him inside places with multiple unmasked strangers (grocery stores etc) so far. We have had play dates inside with families with toddlers but not with any families with toddlers in daycare (so all limited germ exposure situations). After he gets his two month shots next week we will likely loosen up, we were more concerned about his immune system pre-two month vaccinations versus COVID specially.
We haven’t found a great resource for COVID guidelines with infants, if anyone has one to share we’d be very curious especially since we’ll be starting daycare in two months.
I'm 38 weeks pregnant so we don't have a newborn just yet. We're both fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, but about 6 weeks ago my sister, cousin, aunt and uncle all got Covid despite being fully vaccinated (including 2 week wait post last shot) after attending an indoors unmasked dinner party together. As a result we're now we're being extra extra cautious, especially because my sister is still recovering 5 weeks later (main symptom as this point is fatigue). Having a newborn and recovering from Covid at the same time sounds absolutely terrible, so much of our precaution is to protect me and my husband as much as it is to protect the baby.
Our current thinking is:
• Socialize in well-ventilated outdoor areas whenever possible. Let friends and family (probably including unvaccinated kids, but this is a bit TBD) hold the baby, but as an extra precaution ask them to wear a mask. As detailed in this NYT article from May 11, there is basically no evidence of Covid spreading outdoors (so a mask is probably a little overkill), BUT this data is of course all retrospective, and we want to be extra cautious given the new, more transmissible Delta variant.
• Allow a select few vaccinated adults to be inside our house unmasked. Probably this will just be my parents, sister and her husband, and one other set of close friends who we really trust (and who are always wearing N95 masks when indoors, and not allowing others in their house without an N95 mask).
• If other friends need to come inside our house (e.g. to use the bathroom) ask them to wear an N95 mask.
Not sure if you've come across the writing of Emily Oster, but would highly recommend her newsletter (https://emilyoster.substack.com/) if you want a very data-driven, evidence-based way analysis of how to think about Covid risk with infants and kids.
Good luck!
If you got vaccinated while pregnant the data is very good that the baby will carry antibodies. That is my situation and I don’t stress about anyone interacting with the baby indoors or outdoor. My baby is 3 months. That said pretty much any adults that have held the baby are vaccinated and it’s rare in these covid times for a non family member to make any attempt to physically interact with the baby. My baby does have an unvaccinated older sister in childcare and that is probably her biggest potential exposure source. But as I said, I don’t stress since I got vaxxed in my third trimester. And I wouldn’t stress much if I hadn’t because kids don’t transmit the virus easily, delta variant notwithstanding. I worry more about my 3 year old but take comfort in minimal adverse effects to her age group.
Following! We have a 4 month old and have been very cautious thus far. It feels prudent to treat her as unvaccinated eventhough I’m breastfeeding! So far we’ve only let family indoors/ hold her with a 5 day quarantine post travel and a negative covid test. I feel ok about being around folks outside, and think I am almost ready to ease with vaccinated folks indoors who have not been exposed via travel or in groups which might consist of anyone unvaccinated, but feel really flummoxed by older young children who are in school or daycare. Would love to hear what other people are doing and thinking!
I have a 6 week old. We let both sets of vaccinated grandparents hold our newborn - they were visiting from out of state, we hadn't seen them in over a year and a half and probably won't see them again for at least a few months. All other visits have been outdoors unmasked with vaccinated individuals and no holding baby.
Honestly right now I'm more concerned about the other viruses going around and things that would be introduced from my toddler's interactions. I'd take that into account with your nieces and nephews.