((PKG)) GIVING BIRTH DURING COVID
((TRT: 3:11))
((Banner: A Pandemic Birth))
((Reporter/Camera: Lisa Vohra)
((Locater: Reston, Virginia)
((Main Character: 1 female))
((MUSIC))
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
When you’re pregnant, you’re, kind of, bombarded with
information about, you know, things like Zika or other, you
know, diseases that can really affect the fetus, and with
COVID, just no information at all.
((MUSIC))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
All of our dreams of doing babymoons or having any sort of
like, you know, travel while we were pregnant, just obviously
couldn’t happen. All of the scans that I was getting just to,
you know, make sure it was a healthy pregnancy, normally
you would have your partner or spouse there. You know,
these are really like big milestones. So, like the 20-week
scan, which is the really big one, almost always a husband
would be there. So, my husband kind of missed out on all of
those. I mean, obviously he got to see the images, but just,
you know, interacting in real time with the tech, he kind of,
you know, didn’t get to have that experience. So, that was a
little bit, you know, disappointing.
((MUSIC))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
But luckily, they did allow one person to be with you in the
delivery, so it could have been a doula. Obviously in my
case, I wanted my husband to be able to experience it.
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
So, he was there, you know, gowned up like any normal
delivery husband. He was able to be right near me the whole
time. He was able to hold Rumi. He had to wear a mask, but
I didn’t. So, I was a little nervous going into the delivery,
whether or not I’d have to go through a pretty intense
physical experience in a mask. But because I was negative,
they didn’t make me mask up.
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
((MUSIC))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
Post-birth is already a pretty intense period for any new
parent. You’re constantly questioning whether you’re doing
enough and layering COVID on top of that. You know, still so
many unknowns about how it affects children. You know,
sometimes you hear it doesn’t affect them at all. Other times
you hear that, you know, they can have serious issues.
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
We missed out on all of those early visits, the way that we
missed out on a baby shower. So, it wasn’t easy. I have to
say there was a lot of texting, a lot of phone calls. The silver
lining, I would have to say though is, no fear of missing out.
You know, normally, I think, when you’re a new mom, you’re
really like feeling the left behind, like you can’t go see the
hottest movies. You can’t eat out, you know. You’re really
stuck at home all the time. Well, during COVID, everyone
was stuck at home. So, I wasn’t being reminded of what I
was missing necessarily because there was nothing being
shared. I think, if I had been having that kind of
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
resumption of normal life hanging over me, I may have felt a
little bit more anxious about it. You know, I just remember so
many of my friends, like the last month of their maternity
leave, there's like this kind of almost dread because you’ve
gotten so used to one-on-one time with your baby and now
you have to think about somebody else stepping into that
role. It’s, you know, such an abrupt shift and for me,
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
I was able to kind of transition that a lot more gradually
which, I think, has been really wonderful and allowed me to
really feel comfortable in my role as her mom.
((MUSIC))
((TRT: 3:11))
((Banner: A Pandemic Birth))
((Reporter/Camera: Lisa Vohra)
((Locater: Reston, Virginia)
((Main Character: 1 female))
((MUSIC))
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
When you’re pregnant, you’re, kind of, bombarded with
information about, you know, things like Zika or other, you
know, diseases that can really affect the fetus, and with
COVID, just no information at all.
((MUSIC))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
All of our dreams of doing babymoons or having any sort of
like, you know, travel while we were pregnant, just obviously
couldn’t happen. All of the scans that I was getting just to,
you know, make sure it was a healthy pregnancy, normally
you would have your partner or spouse there. You know,
these are really like big milestones. So, like the 20-week
scan, which is the really big one, almost always a husband
would be there. So, my husband kind of missed out on all of
those. I mean, obviously he got to see the images, but just,
you know, interacting in real time with the tech, he kind of,
you know, didn’t get to have that experience. So, that was a
little bit, you know, disappointing.
((MUSIC))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
But luckily, they did allow one person to be with you in the
delivery, so it could have been a doula. Obviously in my
case, I wanted my husband to be able to experience it.
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
So, he was there, you know, gowned up like any normal
delivery husband. He was able to be right near me the whole
time. He was able to hold Rumi. He had to wear a mask, but
I didn’t. So, I was a little nervous going into the delivery,
whether or not I’d have to go through a pretty intense
physical experience in a mask. But because I was negative,
they didn’t make me mask up.
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
((MUSIC))
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
Post-birth is already a pretty intense period for any new
parent. You’re constantly questioning whether you’re doing
enough and layering COVID on top of that. You know, still so
many unknowns about how it affects children. You know,
sometimes you hear it doesn’t affect them at all. Other times
you hear that, you know, they can have serious issues.
((Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill, Operating Partner-SVQUAD, Mother
of Newborn))
We missed out on all of those early visits, the way that we
missed out on a baby shower. So, it wasn’t easy. I have to
say there was a lot of texting, a lot of phone calls. The silver
lining, I would have to say though is, no fear of missing out.
You know, normally, I think, when you’re a new mom, you’re
really like feeling the left behind, like you can’t go see the
hottest movies. You can’t eat out, you know. You’re really
stuck at home all the time. Well, during COVID, everyone
was stuck at home. So, I wasn’t being reminded of what I
was missing necessarily because there was nothing being
shared. I think, if I had been having that kind of
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
resumption of normal life hanging over me, I may have felt a
little bit more anxious about it. You know, I just remember so
many of my friends, like the last month of their maternity
leave, there's like this kind of almost dread because you’ve
gotten so used to one-on-one time with your baby and now
you have to think about somebody else stepping into that
role. It’s, you know, such an abrupt shift and for me,
((Courtesy: Raj-Ann Rekhi Gill))
I was able to kind of transition that a lot more gradually
which, I think, has been really wonderful and allowed me to
really feel comfortable in my role as her mom.
((MUSIC))
