The reactions to Gommers’ statement are not on the air on social media: “You decide that pretty well yourself”, it sounds, or: “as if you get pregnant on order”.
And indeed: a baby often cannot be planned. Claudia from Capelle aan den IJssel is currently heavily pregnant: her baby will be born in seven weeks.
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“We have already decided in 2019 to start with a child”, she says. “I am already 42, so I could not wait much longer. Coincidentally, it worked just after the first corona wave. We did not expect the outbreak to continue for so long.”
Yet Claudia understands Gommers’ call. “When you are pregnant, your lungs have less space because of that big belly. So you are already more short of breath. It is no fun to have to walk around with a mouth mask. And you certainly do not want to get corona.”
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Gums: Corona is also usually mild in pregnant women
In a Instagrampost Today Gommers nuanced his statement about getting pregnant during the corona crisis.
“As an IC doctor, I naturally only see seriously ill people, including a number of pregnant women,” Gommers writes. “But that’s no reason not to get pregnant now.”
Pregnant women have the same risk of becoming infected as women who are not pregnant, says Gommers. And because they are generally young, corona is mild in most pregnant women.
A small proportion become more seriously ill, Gommers writes, in which case the pregnancy does play an important role: “In the severe form, they are more ill at the end of the pregnancy (3rd trimester), because the abdomen is in the way and the lungs have less space. “
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Due to her work in healthcare, Claudia had to wear a mouth mask all day long. She works in a lab where corona tests are done. “We also take blood from the corona department for this. That is not without risk: despite all the protective means, a number of colleagues still became infected. Fortunately, when I became pregnant, I was allowed to avoid the isolation department.”
That corona is no fun during your pregnancy, Yasmila (33) from Houten is all about it. She became infected at the end of September, when she was 15 weeks pregnant.
Worries about your baby
Yasmila: “I have been quite ill. Fever, shortness of breath, very tired. I was really knocked out in bed for three weeks. I found the stuffiness especially very intense.”
“You worry whether your baby will continue to go well,” says Yasmila. “When I was so sick, I didn’t know if it affected the baby. And all appointments and check-ups are canceled as long as you are sick, so they can’t keep an eye on your baby.”
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Yasmila assumes that her baby has lost nothing from her corona infection. “According to the doctors, children are in principle born healthy after an infection. But you can never be entirely sure, because corona has not been around for very long. That uncertainty is in the back of your mind.”
Still bothered
Even now, months later, Yasmila is still suffering from her corona infection. “I have muscle pain every day and sometimes the shortness of breath suddenly returns. Pregnant women have a lower resistance, which means that recovery takes longer. And I sleep badly because of the pregnancy, which is also not good for my recovery.”
Yasmila has not considered putting her wish to have children in the fridge: “A child cannot always be planned, it took us quite a long time. But if you are still young and not in a hurry, I can imagine that you will wait and see.”
Claudia agrees: “If possible, it might be better to postpone it for a while. But if you are having trouble conceiving, I would not be held back. My pregnancy was a bit more difficult, but I have no regrets. “
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