Bringing Home Baby

by Elizabeth Birkhead Weaver, RN
Home and Classroom
Volume 6

Bringing a new infant home has always been both an exciting and a stressful time for parents. Especially if it’s your first time, you will probably have a lot of questions about how to take care of and raise your baby. Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic, this stress can be heightened. If you are expecting a baby soon, it means you have gone through your whole pregnancy during the pandemic (and that’s not easy!). Bringing a newborn home during this time might raise a lot more questions. As a maternity nurse, a mother of two little boys, with a third baby on the way, let me tell you I have had a lot of questions myself about how to do this during a pandemic. Here’s what I’ve learned!

First, be aware that there are increased restrictions in the hospital. Talk to your OB about what your hospital stay might look like. Most hospitals are allowing only one support person. If that support person leaves the hospital, they are not allowed back in, and no other support person is allowed in their place. You will likely get a COVID test when you arrive. If you test positive, your nurses and doctors will wear goggles, gowns, caps, and masks whenever they come in.

If you are worried about COVID-19 and your infant, take a deep breath. Doctors have found that it is uncommon for infants to have severe cases of COVID. Even babies born to positive moms aren’t necessarily infected. If you do have COVID-19 at the time you deliver your baby, your doctors will help you every step of the way to make sure that you and the baby are safe. Usually moms who are COVID-19 positive are encouraged to wash their hands, wear a mask around their baby, and keep a 6 foot distance from them when possible (CDC, 2020).

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Next thing to consider is feeding your baby. When you’re thinking about this, keep in mind that during COVID-19 there are some extra benefits to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding provides antibodies from mom to baby. Antibodies are the part of our immune system that help our body fight off infection. As adults, we have developed many antibodies already, but infants haven’t had the chance to do that since they are brand new. Even if you don’t have COVID antibodies in your system yet, doctors have found that breastfed babies usually have less severe respiratory symptoms if they do happen to get sick, including lower risk for asthma, eczema, tummy issues, SIDS, diabetes, and obesity… just to name a few! What if you do think you have been exposed to COVID and you are breastfeeding? Good news! Studies show that the coronavirus is not passed from mom to baby via breastmilk (WHO, 2020).

When can visitors come and meet the baby? That question can be difficult to answer. Complete isolation is the safest in terms of not getting sick, but is it realistic for everybody? Some families will be fine with strict isolation. New parents who are exhausted and overwhelmed may need a helping hand from a trusted friend or grandparent to help them through the first few days and weeks. Each new parent will need to ask themselves what level of contact they are comfortable with. Of course, asking a visitor to obtain a negative COVID test or to quarantine for two weeks prior to visiting is a great way to ensure safety, and even then proper handwashing and masking are important. Making decisions about who can be allowed to visit may be even more difficult when you are tired, worried, and not thinking clearly, so it is always okay to reach out to your pediatrician or OB and ask them what their recommendations are. Above all, don’t be afraid to say no if you are uncomfortable. You’ll learn that parenting is a long journey of making tough decisions about keeping your family safe, and this is the first of many.

Wishing you all the best for a healthy mom and a healthy baby!

References:

Centers for Disease Control. (2020, December 28). COVID-19: Pregnancy, breastfeeding, and caring for newborns.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/pregnancy-breastfeeding.html

Liu, C. H., Erdei, C., & Mittal, L. (2021). Risk factors for depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms in perinatal women during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Psychiatry research, 295, 113552. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113552

World Health Organization. (2020, June). Breastfeeding and COVID-19. https:// www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/breastfeeding-and-covid-19

FROM HOME & CLASSROOM MAGAZINE: Bringing Home Baby

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