And professional sport
‘‘I did have somewhat of a freak-out with what Alex [Morgan] tweeted,’’ O’Reilly says. ‘‘I started crying to my husband Dave, and was a little bit over the top about it, like, ‘What are you just going to drop me off at the [hospital] door like it’s the airport? You’re going to go get a sandwich or something and I’m going to have a baby by myself?’’’
She laughs at the memory, but admits the constantly changing situation has been unnerving. At one point she considered giving birth at her North Carolina home, to avoid a hospital stay. For now she is sticking to the original plan, though.
British sprinter Bianca Williams gave birth to her first son at a London hospital last month, just days before the Government imposed the lockdown. She described the experience as ‘‘strange’’.
‘‘It wasn’t how I thought I’d be having my first child,’’ Williams, 26, says. ‘‘I wasn’t allowed any visitors, only my partner, and it had to be only him. He wasn’t even allowed to sit on the bed after I’d given birth.
‘‘It was a bit chaotic. I just had to be positive and know they were just trying to do what they can to keep everyone in hospital safe. If you look at the bigger picture, it was all they could have done.’’
A few weeks on, her son has only met her extended family and friends via video call and some of her aftercare has been changed to virtual interactions with medical professionals. She cannot even register her son’s birth until the lockdown is over.
England netball player Eboni Usoro-Brown, 32, is expecting her first child in August. Her experience has been impacted as some hospitals limit the number of people allowed on site, even for prenatal appointments.
‘‘I had my 20-week scan and only I went into the hospital – my husband wasn’t allowed to be there,’’ she says of her husband, who is in the RAF. ‘‘That is a significant moment in a pregnancy you’d get to enjoy together, but we weren’t able to – obviously for good reason.’’