Pregnant during a pandemic: How COVID-19 changes giving birth

During the night, Caroline Cole felt some cramps, not entirely unexpected with her baby’s due date days away.

Cole thought the cramps were early signs of labor. Even then, they were not too painful. So she called her doctor and asked what to look for before making her way to the hospital.

A hospital birth was always the plan, even as cases of COVID-19 started to grow in the state and in Frederick County. The disease, caused by SARS-CoV-2, did not add too much anxiety, Cole, 33, said.

She wanted to have her daughter soon to avoid the possible hospital surge expected with the virus. But, overall, she did not have increased anxiety.

That was likely due to it being her second child, she admitted. It may have been different if it was her first.

Birth is one of the things affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, for both those expecting a new child and those in the birth industry. New mothers are limited to one visitor during labor at most hospitals, including Frederick Health Hospital, meaning they can only have their partner, a doula or other support person.

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