Despite many precautions, she tested positive for the coronavirus...when she was nine months pregnant.
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🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00in the month of March and I was in the 6th month of pregnancy.
00:03I just felt one report turned my life upside down.
00:06So I started telling my baby that don't worry,
00:09your mom is going to make sure that whatever I planned for you,
00:13that's going to happen.
00:19So this is my first pregnancy.
00:21Like any other couple, we were overjoyed.
00:23We were super excited.
00:25And the first thing we thought to ourselves is
00:28how we can make this journey as perfect as possible.
00:32Fifth month, we went hide, we celebrated baby shower,
00:35we had a good time with our family.
00:37We came back to Chennai and we were like,
00:39okay, so this is our time.
00:41We are going to enjoy every moment.
00:43And that's when COVID-19 started spreading in India
00:47in the month of March and I was in the 6th month of pregnancy.
00:51It was bad news because that's the time
00:54where you start feeling your baby kicks.
00:56You enjoy that emotionally
00:58and you learn that entire country is in lockdown.
01:02You can't go out, you can't walk in park,
01:05you can't go to any beach in Chennai.
01:07You just can't lead any normal life.
01:09You're restricted to home.
01:11The only place I used to visit 95% of the time
01:15was hospital for my checkup, which cannot be avoided.
01:18So I had my own kit.
01:20When I say own kit, even before packing my medical reports,
01:24I used to pack that kit with sanitizers, masks,
01:29gloves, disinfectant sprays, wipes,
01:31sprays to your hospital chairs,
01:34where I'm going to sit,
01:36wipes to clean the medical reports when others touch.
01:39So I used to pack all those well in advance.
01:42My husband is a pilot by profession.
01:44He won't be home for at least thrice a week.
01:49He keeps flying and due to pandemic,
01:52there was no change because he works for cargo airlines.
01:55So the first thing we did is we wanted
01:57to pre-board my delivery also.
01:58We wanted to plan the date.
02:00I didn't want it to wait for natural pains
02:02because with COVID in place and if he is not at home,
02:05I was really unsure if I can get enough support,
02:08if I get natural pain.
02:09So we wanted to plan a date, go admit
02:11and just get things done as much as structured way possible
02:16and come back home.
02:17So Chennai was in complete lockdown.
02:21You know how the cases were spreading in Chennai.
02:24I mean, the situation was really tense,
02:27but we kept calm.
02:28My baby was speaking very well.
02:30So finally, two weeks before my delivery date,
02:32actual delivery date, we went for a regular checkup
02:36and doctor said, everything is smooth.
02:38There is nothing to worry.
02:39We are almost close to the delivery date.
02:41And she told me that I need to get a COVID-19 test done
02:45as a mandatory guideline,
02:47which was set up by the government.
02:49And I was absolutely fine with that.
02:51Next day, I got the report and I was positive.
02:55It was devastating.
02:58Like I never ever expected in last,
03:02since COVID-19 has started,
03:04I never thought even for a 10 seconds
03:07that I might test positive.
03:10Because, you know, as an individual,
03:12you will be conscious for sure.
03:14But when you know you have a baby inside you,
03:16you are going to be extra conscious every single minute.
03:19Even before touching anything,
03:21allowing anybody to touch you,
03:22even the doctor or anything, you are always alert.
03:25I just felt one report turned my life upside down.
03:28I felt that my future and my baby's future was uncertain.
03:33Forget about what plans I had,
03:36but I was really worried about my baby.
03:39We were almost to the end of the journey.
03:42And I really cannot express
03:45what I've gone through that day.
03:47We immediately called my gynaecologist.
03:50We told her, I'm asymptomatic.
03:52I do not have any symptoms.
03:54If you get stressed out,
03:55if you get emotionally disturbed,
03:57there are high chances of you getting into a labor.
04:00So for me, my result, my worry for my baby,
04:03and I cannot express it emotionally
04:06because things will get more worse.
04:09So that was my state of mind.
04:11I can't even shed a tear.
04:13She told me very clearly,
04:14if you cry, you'll develop a sore throat
04:16and you may worry that it's one of the symptoms.
04:19You can't even come out.
04:20You'll be in home isolation.
04:22So how will you express?
04:23How will you get tested?
04:24How will you go for checkup?
04:25I literally controlled my tears.
04:28I brought back all my emotions.
04:31I went to the room, I isolated my husband, my mom,
04:34all of us went into three different rooms
04:37and we prepared for the next one week.
04:40First thing, when I isolated myself,
04:42I started talking to my baby.
04:45I felt I'm not alone
04:47because she's suffering along with me.
04:50So I started telling my baby that,
04:52don't worry, your mom is going to make sure
04:54that whatever I plan for you, that's going to happen.
04:58And I started telling her,
05:01only thing I need from you is kick me as much as possible.
05:04Keep interacting with me as much as possible.
05:07Every hour, whenever I eat, come down.
05:10So doctor told me to monitor five kicks in an hour.
05:13I said, you have to kick me at least 15 to 20 times, right?
05:17So that's when I know you are active.
05:19You are with me, you are healthy.
05:21And that's the only thing that's going to be positive
05:25inside this room for me.
05:27And to my surprise, my baby was hyperactive
05:29throughout that week,
05:31when compared to the entire pregnancy.
05:33I started checking which are the private hospitals
05:36that tied up with government to support COVID patients.
05:40I got a list of 10 to 15 hospitals in Chennai.
05:42I started dialing each number
05:44and 80% plus hospitals have disconnected my calls
05:48when they got to know I'm a pregnant woman.
05:51When I've gone through Tamil Nadu government site,
05:54I was super happy to see that every hospital list was there
05:58and they were displaying number of beds available.
06:02So I thought when they said number of beds available,
06:04that's for every COVID positive patient.
06:07When I called, I realized it's not for pregnant women.
06:11I came across two hospitals
06:13who were treating COVID pregnant women.
06:17And when I spoke to them,
06:19they told me that they'll be charging me four to six lakhs,
06:23anywhere between four to six lakhs
06:25and admission would be for five to seven days.
06:27And they said, you will have to come down next one hour.
06:30You will have to come down next one hour
06:32and you will have to admit
06:33because we will not wait for one week.
06:35You will miss your slot, you'll miss your bed.
06:38So you will have to come and admit today
06:40or latest by tomorrow morning.
06:42And nobody can accompany me, my husband, my family,
06:46nobody can accompany me to the hospital.
06:48And they'll be doing only C-section,
06:50not a natural delivery.
06:51So I had one set of doctors who were motivating me
06:55that if you do not develop any symptoms,
06:58nothing is going to happen to you, your baby and all.
07:01And I had one set of doctors who told me
07:03that you're going to lose your baby
07:06if you don't deliver in the next 24 hours.
07:08So I was confused.
07:10We all were confused.
07:12So that's when we thought, okay,
07:13we at least have alternate options.
07:15If there is an emergency, we will go to them.
07:18But till then, we will just continue to be home
07:20and we'll pray that we don't develop any symptoms.
07:23And that's what we exactly did.
07:25And that entire one week passed.
07:27On the eighth day, I got tested
07:30and it turned out to be negative as we all hoped for.
07:34And by God's grace,
07:36so that's when I went back to the same gynecologist,
07:39same hospital as I promised my baby everything.
07:43Like whatever room we wanted to go,
07:46whatever date we wanted to go for the delivery,
07:48everything happened as per that.
07:50And my ninth month scan, my baby was absolutely fine.
07:54And I don't know if I should call it a happy ending
07:57or a happy beginning,
07:58but just trust in your baby, just trust yourself.
08:01If you've come so far,
08:03if you got pregnant,
08:04if you have a life within yourself,
08:07that means you have superpowers.
08:09So you can easily overcome anything.
08:12So COVID is just a passing cloud.