Helisa, pregnant with her third child, is due to give birth in the coming days in Nice. “In everyday life, it’s a little bit of an emotional lift” , explains the mom.
Most of the time I am quite calm. But in the evening in bed, when I imagine going alone in an ambulance, giving birth with a mask on my face and not being able to kiss my baby … I’m not laughing.
And then there is the question of the sequence of layers. Hospital orders are to send mothers and their babies home as quickly as possible.
“What I fear the most is the pain in the trenches (painful contractions just after birth, note). For my second daughter, they were already very strong and the midwives had relieved me a lot. When I’m home alone, I don’t know how it’s going to be ”, fears Helisa.
Not without dad
At 28, Lilas is expecting her first child. And it is not the risk of contamination that worries her.
What worries me most is imagining having to give birth without my spouse. Daddy doesn’t have a chance to bear a baby, I think it’s essential for fathers who want to have their baby born.
Same concern for Jennifer and Leo, who are expecting their second child.
“It would be difficult for the couple not to be able to attend the baby’s arrival together. But if it is for the safety of my wife, baby and caregivers, I understand that”says Leo.
“We put things into perspective by saying that we already lived together when our first child was born”, adds the young father.
His wife Jennifer also wants to remain optimistic but recognizes “an anxiety-provoking context”. The young woman is struggling with the medical care of the end of large distance.
My monthly follow-up with the midwife is done by phone, as is the appointment with the anesthesiologist. No one really examines me and I feel a little lonely in my pregnancy monitoring.
Cosmonaut midwives
On the maternity side too, we had to adapt. In the one where Camille is a midwife, in Marseille, a special unit for women infected with the virus, or suspected of being it, was created a few days ago.
“When we have to give birth to these Covid + patients, we look like cosmonauts. Over-shoes, over-blouse, apron, gloves, charlotte, FFP2 masks”, lists the midwife.
Even for women with hepatitis or AIDS, you are never more protected.
The French Society of Anesthesia and Resuscitation has produced an explanatory video on how to dress in the presence of Covid-19 patients.
-In this level 3 maternity hospital in Marseille, only a dozen women with Covid-19 gave birth.
“But it’s very special to work in this atmosphere, says Camille. Some of my colleagues are quite anxious and the relationship with patients and the couple changes”, explains the midwife.
We must reassure the ladies, who are sometimes alone in the room for a long time.
Here, dads can attend the delivery but are only allowed to come when the patient goes into labor and must leave quickly after the baby is born.
Anne-Laure, a midwife in a smaller maternity unit, has not yet been confronted with the cases of Covid-19. She and her colleagues are preparing for it.
“In the service, we set up a circuit to prevent moms who have the virus from transmitting it to others. And before entering maternity, it is temperature measurement and compulsory questionnaire”, explains Anne-Laure.
Since the start of the epidemic, the service has received many more calls than usual. “The ladies ask a lot of questions about who can accompany them, how will the delivery and the next part of the pregnancy go?”, specifies the midwife.
Despite this additional workload, she would like to recall: “You should not neglect any health concerns and do not hesitate to call the maternity units. We are there to take care of people for Covid-19 problems but also for the rest.”
Solution: a free coaching formula by visio-conf
Magali Dieux, a specialist birth coach for over ten years, praised in particular by Professor René Frydmam, a prominent obstetrician and gynecologist, has just proposed the idea to the CPAM.
It will be implemented in mid-April, via a pilot operation by the CAF du Var. This coaching will be offered to 700 beneficiaries, 300 of whom are first-parents.
“For them this period of birth is already stressful, it is much worse in times of health crisis and we know that this state weakens the immune defenses, so we must act quickly”, explains Magalie Dieux.
Free of charge the coach will lead seminars of four times an hour for future parents. By web of course. No question of meeting the couples firsthand.
On his chain Youtube, Magali Dieux will offer discussion sessions and small concrete exercises.
“The idea is that the parents are independent and do not constantly ask the caregivers. Mothers must plan for the absence of the second parent, that they integrate it.”
In birthing rooms, caregivers could allow the mother to keep her cell phone, with the other parent on the phone.
The “SOS” to learn to manage pain
During the sessions Magali Dieux will teach parents how to manage pain, thanks in particular to tools that take three letters S.O.S.
The S for sound. Parents emit vibrations during contractions.
The O for yes. The sound should be sent to someone of their choice (the baby) with a positive thought (we’ll get there, for example).
The S for smiling. We put a smile on his face.
“But of course you have to practice all of this upstream. That is why there is a whole filmography to watch,” said the coach.
Notice to expectant mothers, first session normally Saturday April 11. This free service could then be offered to the entire territory.
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