Welcome to the world

Laura Walters spoke to Kiwis around the world, who have welcomed children amid the uncertainty.

n the weeks after birth, healthcare professionals closely track a baby’s weight to make sure they’re healthy and feedingwell. Usually, this would involve a quick trip to the midwife for aweigh-in and checkup.

When Laura Ashworth-Cape was unable to see her midwife, due to the cancellation of most face-to-face health visits and routine checkups in London, she and her husband made do withwhat they could find.

They put their newborn into a bag – ‘‘a well-ventilated bag, of course’’ – and hooked it onto their handheld luggage scale.

Charlie was one ofmore than 140million babies born around theworld this past year – many amid Covid-19 lockdowns and changing restrictions.

Like somany parents, Laura and her husband Robin Ashworth-Cape had to adjust their expectations, while dealing with challenging circumstances.

New Zealand endured relatively short lockdowns and disruptions tomaternal health services were minimal. But countries such as Italy, Spain, the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom have bounced in and out of lockdowns – and between different levels of restrictions.

In some places, this has caused confusion, anxiety and trouble accessing basic physical care and support.

The Ashworth-Capes moved to London almost five years ago. At the beginning of March, they welcomed their first baby.

The UK had already experienced Covid-19 deaths and, three weeks later, the country would go into its first lockdown. But when Charlie was born there were no restrictions – and Covid-related maternal health advice was hard to come by.

Ashworth-Cape says Covid-19was ‘‘thirdpage news’’ and, after being discharged from hospital, her sister and friends visited – the virus was a distant worry.

‘‘Wewere passing him around like passthe-parcel.’’

But the state of the nation changed and, suddenly, peoplewere locked inside, grocery stockpiling began and baby supplies were running out.

Ashworth-Cape’s husband and sister left their homes in the dark and lined up at pharmacies around the city in the hope of finding some Calpol (baby paracetamol).

For the most part, the small family adjusted and didn’t need any specialist support.

But Ashworth-Cape missed out on her sixweek postpartum checkup and, when it came time for Charlie’s checks and immunisations, she had to fight to be seen by the doctor.

It was the middle of the pandemic’s first wave; people were so scared they were crossing the street to avoid each other, and the importance of vaccines was front of mind, Ashworth-Cape says.

She changed GPs in order to get Charlie his early immunisations. After her new doctor refused to see Charlie for his eightweek appointment to check things like eyes, heart and hips, her healthworker laid a complaint with the localwatchdog.

Restrictions – andmore importantly the interpretation of restrictions – not only differ between countries, there are often inconsistencies between cities, local areas, and even between hospitals and GP practices.

Mothers have reported a range of experiences during the pandemic, with their quality of treatment largely decided by a postcode lottery.

On top of the physical health challenges, women have spoken about feeling isolated and left without support.

Many have not been able to rely on family and friends in the same way they would during normal times. This is felt keenly for Kiwis having babies overseas.

Ashworth-Cape says she desperately wants her London-based sister to have normal interactions with Charlie, rather than waving from a distance when dropping off groceries.

She has near daily calls with her mother in New Zealand, but her planned trips to the UK to meet her grandson have been repeatedly cancelled.

‘‘You already feel a bit guilty having a baby over the other side of the world, but I have extreme guilt about the fact that my parents haven’t met Charlie yet.’’

A US study, published in the Journal of

found mothers have experienced heightened stress and anxiety during the pandemic.

Many feared catching the virus in hospital and worried about being separated from their birthing partner.

These concerns have seenmore people opting for home births. But early on, some home birthswere cancelled, due to the risk of ambulances being diverted from Covid patients.

Meanwhile, more than a third of the 2145 US-based patients surveyed said their top fear was postpartum depression.

Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Aotearoa (PADA) educator Liora Noy says there has been anxiety and trauma associated with people being forced to birth alone, as well as the lack of in-person care for new parents and babies.

The PADAmental health team

‘‘Adam’s seen every single cute, awesome thing that Juno has done, and has been able to be a part of it all.’’

Following the survey, healthcare professionals, academics, campaigners and MPs wrote an open letter toNHS chief executive Simon Stevens asking the UK public health system to change its approach.

‘‘Evidence shows women have fewer complications during childbirth if they have a trusted partner with them, and we ask that you take into consideration the increased levels of stress and anxiety amongst pregnant women who are forced to go through other parts of their maternity journey without a trusted companion,’’ the letter said.

‘‘I thinkwomen and health aren’t considered enough by the people responsible formaking the rules,’’ Gibson says.

While the London-based Kiwi had a relatively seamless pregnancy, complications during deliverymeant a medical intervention.

Her daughter Juno missed about 40 seconds of oxygenwhen she was born and had to undergo controlled cooling – sometimes called hypothermia treatment.

Shewas in the hospital for five days, and while Gibson and her husband, Adam, were able to visit Juno in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), they couldn’t visit together.

In June, partnersweren’t allowed in the maternity ward, so Gibson was left alone after a major procedure, and her partner was left to communicate with family on the other side of the world.

‘‘Itwas just a really weird experience. I’m sitting there without a baby, thinking ‘I just had a baby. Where’smy baby? What’s going on? What is this?’’’

The pair say this led to some anxiety and miscommunication: at times they were told different things about Juno’s treatment, by different healthcare professionals.

But all the overseas Kiwis who spoke to Stuff also acknowledge the positive experiences created by Covid-19.

With partnersworking from home, new mothers have more day-to-day support. And fathers are able to experience their babies’ milestones firsthand.

Ashworth-Cape says this has been ‘‘an amazing silver lining’’ to having a baby during the pandemic.

‘‘Adam’s seen every single cute, awesome thing that Juno has done, and has been able to be a part of it all,’’ Gibson says.

The College ofMidwives’ MacDonald says many have also had positive breastfeeding experiences, thanks to quieter hospitals.

While the worst of the pandemic may be over, as long as the risk of infection remains, those with young children will be left to navigate the tricky task of responsible socialising.

The importance of socialising babies with a range of people is well known. But it’s hard to know howmuch to expose children to those outside their bubble.

Adam Gibson says everyone has to find their own limits.

It’s been important to spend timewith their ‘‘UK family’’. But in caseswhere friends have been travelling or meeting in large groups, he’s kept Juno at a distance.

Other than a couple of awkward interactions, things are goingwell, and Juno had the chance to meet her New Zealand family during a trip home over the summer.

‘‘We had our baby in the thick of it, but we’ve had a pretty smooth ride to date,’’ he says.

Like hiswife, he acknowledges the privilege that comeswith having a happy, healthy baby, financial stability, and a solid partnership.

‘‘Ash is extremely good at rolling with the punches,’’ Gibson says.

‘‘It’s probably more thanks to her that we have been able to ride these waves… Having one person in the relationship, who is super level-headed and is OK with unknown unknowns, is certainly helpful.’’

ASHLEIGH GIBSON