Denise Ives - Mamas in Lockdown: Personal stories of becoming a parent during Covid-19 lockdown in Aotearoa New Zealand

MAMAS IN LOCKDOWN

Personal stories of becoming a parent during Covid-19 lockdown in Aotearoa New Zealand

2020 Denise Ives

All Rights Reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

www.mamasinlockdown.nz

ISBN: 978-0-473-53892-7

ISBN: 9780473577599 (e-book)

A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of New Zealand

Limit of Liability: This book is not intended to provide medical advice. This publication is for general information only and does not constitute the practice of medicine or replace the advice of your health care provider. What works for one woman might not work for another. Trust your instincts and take advice from a health care professional.

FOREWORD

This book provides a generous and unique insight into the lived experiences of women who have walked the journey of pregnancy and birth during Covid-19. It is my hope that these stories contribute to the national conversation around all matters pertaining to maternal care with a focus on what we can learn in the face of deep collective adversity, uncertainty and change. This book requires full engagement by the reader, as just like the pandemic changed the world as we knew it, these are experiences we will be unpacking for many years to come.

While the ownership of these stories sits with the authors and contributors, there is a sense of solidarity in the experiences shared. These narratives locate us in a time and place where there is still much to learn. The book gives life, space, vibrancy, feeling and validity to the experiences of women and their whnau and has been a therapeutic tool of consolidating the birthing experience. This collection of stories exists to remind the many babies born during this time that love was all around them. Regardless of the many challenges and uncertainties, their births transformed our lives forever.

Arianna Nisa-Waller

Lecturer Hauora Mori

University of Otago

Dedication

To the new parents struggling to find their way

To the families that feel no-one understands

To the midwives and health professionals navigating a new way of working

This book is for you.

To the people who have trusted me with their stories

To Jordan, for writing the story that gave me the idea for this book

Thank you.

INTRODUCTION

On 28 February 2020 New Zealand reported its first case of Covid-19. From 20 March 2020 all borders and entry ports to New Zealand were closed. On 21 March a four-level alert system was put in place with New Zealand being placed on alert level 2. On the afternoon of 23 March this was raised to alert level 3, and on 26 March New Zealand was at alert level 4. It was a month before New Zealand moved down to alert level 3, allowing a slight lift in some restrictions, and over two more weeks before New Zealand moved down to alert level 2 on 13 May.

During alert levels 4, 3, and 2, approximately 10,000 women gave birth in New Zealand. Many women will have laboured alone, will have spent the first few days of being a parent alone, separated from their partner who may have been at home looking after other children, out doing the job of an essential worker, or not allowed to be in hospital during lockdown; others will have left hospital only hours after giving birth for the first time - even after having a caesarian section. Some will have returned home to care for a new baby, and maybe other children, without the assistance of whnau and friends.

For many women the transition from working or life before motherhood will have not been as planned. Baby showers, leaving gifts and parties at work, pregnancy photos shoots, antenatal classes - many of these things will have been missed, leaving some parents feeling unprepared and abruptly shifted from a life they knew and understood to their new life of parenthood.

Parents who had never considered or wanted a home birth, were encouraged to look at this as a favourable option as hospitals tried to minimise the number of people entering and leaving.

Around 13-18 percent of new mothers experience postnatal depression in New Zealand. For some women, the Covid-19 pandemic increased feelings of fear, isolation, and sadness - emotions associated with an increased risk of postnatal depression.

It is normal to feel overwhelmed and exhausted in the first few days after giving birth, but the rules around physical distancing and maintaining a safe "bubble" meant that many new parents were unable to have the support and care they would usually have had from whnau, friends, or partners who were essential workers, and this sometimes even resulted in less contact with health professionals.

This book shares observations and emotions from parents who were pregnant or gave birth during the Covid-19 pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand, particularly during the time of alert levels 4, 3, and 2.

It is an opportunity to celebrate birth and becoming a parent, and to acknowledge how different this unique and unprecedented time has been for the parents of babies born in 2020 - a year we will not forget for a long time!

Stats from Maternity Services Consumer Council Newsletter, Issue 116, July 2020

ARIANNAS STORY

I have spent the duration of my adult life believing that it would be difficult to fall pregnant due to suspected PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) however, on 13 September 2019 my husband and I received the news of our lives that we were pregnant with our first ppi. We had purchased our first home in 2018, had our dream wedding in Rarotonga in May 2019 and news of a baby just completed our family from the inside out.

As soon as we found out, we were excited about all the possibilities this new life would bring. The things we would learn, the things baby would teach us and the ways our lives would change forever. We, however, didn't factor in the challenges that a global pandemic would bring.

The months seemed to spin into fast-forward and before I knew it, we were in the third trimester of our haptanga (pregnancy) journey and the time was nearing for baby to make her debut into our lives. Around this time we had to consider a few things such as setting up baby's nursery, ensuring we had all the essentials and finalising our birth plan. On the topic of birth plans, I wanted to ensure I had all the information so that when it was time for baby to make her entrance, I could make the best informed choices with our preferences in mind. I understood as with any birth, things don't always go to plan so I had allowed for flexibility and I was happy with the wrap around support I had received from my midwifery team.

Throughout my pregnancy I was always clear on planning to birth baby at home.

I researched extensively about water births and my LMC (lead maternity carer) and I had made a plan around this. Earlier in the year a global pandemic called Covid-19 started to take the world by storm but for some reason, I always thought it wouldnt make it to little old Aotearoa. I couldnt have been more wrong and on the first day of level 4 national lockdown, I received a call from my LMC informing me that I had been diagnosed with gestational diabetes (GD).

I had been so healthy during my pregnancy and was feeling really good in my body so this hit me like a tonne of bricks. I was dealing with my emotions over an uncertain future with lockdown and the addition of what felt like a pregnancy crisis. So many unknowns and I remember feeling the weight of isolation and anxiety run through my body.