Couple flees Manhattan to have baby in Milwaukee
No one could call Meg Cassidy unprepared. The 36-year-old book editor hired a midwife months ago to help with the delivery of her first child. She had a doctor and a hospital.
Then COVID-19 happened. Cassidy, a Wauwatosa native who lives in Manhattan, is eight months pregnant. She and her husband have abandoned their original birth plan and put a new one in place. They’ll have their daughter in Milwaukee.
Cassidy has both practical and emotional reasons for her decision.
Cassidy’s Manhattan doctor couldn’t assure that she would be available for the birth. The midwife wouldn’t be able to attend; she would Skype in. The last straw came when the hospital banned birth partners from the delivery room, hoping to stop the spread of coronavirus even when there are no symptoms.
But mostly, New York is the epicenter for the virus in the United States.
“I don’t really want to go somewhere that’s already stretched thin,” Cassidy said.
She could imagine being dropped off alone in a huge hospital that was likely understaffed and dealing with a pandemic.
She couldn’t imagine her husband, Matthew Hopkins, an accountant, being shut out of the delivery or what they might do to him.
“It’s our first baby,” she said. “For him to miss out on that experience seemed really wrong.”
Cassidy said she did not have any symptoms and neither has her husband, and they’ve been in isolation for more than three weeks — no subway, no grocery shopping. The couple hasn’t taken the subway or even left the house, she said.
On the advice of her midwife, she and Hopkins packed all the nursery items into a rental SUV on Friday. On Saturday, they plan to hit the road for Milwaukee, where they will put down temporary roots in the Historic Third Ward in the home of relatives who are currently living in Door County.
Last week, things felt dire for the couple. A relative died unexpectedly. Grief was added to worry.
Cassidy began by calling hospitals in the Milwaukee area to check on their delivery room policies. Ascension SE Wisconsin-Elmbrook Campus allows just one visitor during and after labor and it has to be the same person. She said the same was true for Aurora West Allis Women’s Pavilion and Froedtert Hospital.
She knew that could change any day. But it was enough hope for the couple to ready for the long drive.
They sanitized the car. On the advice of a Milwaukee doctor, Cassidy will wear compression socks and take frequent breaks to stretch and avoid blood clots.
She and Hopkins will bring a cooler of food and beverages to minimize interactions at gas stations or rest stops. A friend who works in a hospital out of state sent them surgical masks and gloves, which they plan to wear on the drive.
“I’m already a pretty big germophobe when it comes to public restrooms, so am a pro at not touching anything unnecessarily,” she said. She’ll also have disinfecting wipes with her.
Cassidy set up interviews with doctors for when she arrives in Milwaukee. They will only teleconference with her but will meet with her in person April 10, if she shows no symptoms in the meantime. The doctors are worried that the couple is traveling from Manhattan. The couple plans to quarantine in their new home.
Cassidy also consulted with Erin O’Day, a midwife whose practice covers
Milwaukee and Waukesha.
“We are all creating policies from scratch on this one,” said O’Day, who specializes in home births.
The World Health Organization doesn’t believe pregnant women are at higher risk for coronavirus but, due to changes in their bodies and immune system, report they can be badly affected by some respiratory infections.
“It is therefore important that they take precautions to protect themselves against COVID-19, and report possible symptoms (including fever, cough or difficulty breathing) to their healthcare provider,” the report said.
Cassidy, like other mothers O’Day has spoken with, doesn’t want the trauma of coronavirus to affect her pregnancy, her birth or her child.
O’Day said she has received 15 inquiries for her services this week. She would usually handle that many in a span of three months. Other women are concerned that they can’t have support in the delivery room.
She advises families to isolate as much as possible before the birth. She recommends at least two weeks of isolation for others.
“For some people, grandparents are a major support system when recovering from birth,” she said. She recommends limiting visits at the outset and staying home with the newborn for a longerthan-usual period of time.
Cassidy knows she’s lucky to have this option and that she’s had a healthy pregnancy these past 36 weeks.
“I’m grateful for the big picture,” she said.