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Covid

Worried for newborn baby

8 replies

Cauliflower82 · 23/04/2020 05:14

I give birth over six weeks ago to a beautiful baby boy and me, him and my husband, his dad have pretty much been in isolation since lockdown started. We have a daily walk each day but that’s it. We click and collect our shops and stay well away from everyone, including friends and family. It’s just the three of us and that way we feel safe. I’ve also been in hospital several times with pneumonia over the past few years and it was quite serious three years ago when I was off work for almost four months. I’m not worried about me though, I just want my little boy to be okay.

I know most research suggests he will be but my husband’s work are insisting he comes back from furlough next week and I’m really worried. They can’t guarantee social distancing and I’m so stressed he might pick something up and get ill and/or bring it home. Some days I think he should just quit but realistically we can’t afford that and he likes his job.

I don’t know why I’m posting, possibly hoping for people to reassure me babies will be fine. I’ve spoken to the doctor and health visitor and both try and reassure me but to little avail.

OP posts:
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YesThatIsMyRealName · 23/04/2020 05:32

No one can 100% reassure you. Of course there are no guarantees.

But very few babies have suffered with this so the odds are in your favour.

Wash your hands often, sterilise bottles/dummies, wipe the baby's hands, keep the house as clean as you can, wipe handles/switches and other places you touch a lot, don't touch your face. I know it's hard, I'm stressed by this too, but just try to minimise your chances.

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Methyl · 23/04/2020 05:38

The best and most important thing you can do is breastfeed. If you do come into contact with the virus then you'll make antibodies in your milk which will help him. Even if you don't contract this virus, you make non-specific antibodies which help to protect him from picking up bugs in general (and so will further reduce the likelihood of him contracting COVID19). There is pretty good evidence that babies are who are breastfed are less likely to develop asthma than bottlefed babies, so it will be helping his lung development in other ways too.
There's not an awful lot you can do to ease your worry; maintaining breastfeeding is the one thing you can!

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YesThatIsMyRealName · 23/04/2020 05:49

@methyl How is this going to help reassure the OP if she is not breastfeeding?

The benefits of breastfeeding are massively overstated.

The evidence for 'breast is best' is being shown to be shaky at best all the time.

It is far from the 'best and most important' thing. Surely that is washing your hands? Cleaning? Not coughing and sneezing everywhere?

Where is the WHO advice that breastfeeding specifically reduces the likelihood of Coronavirus?

Many women don't breastfeed for all kinds of reasons - birthing injuries, pain, depression, anxiety, sexual abuse trauma, or just because they don't want to. Please do not make them feel guiltier than many already do by repeating this breast is best nonsense, because it is not even true.

The OP's post is not about breastfeeding so let's not get into a debate about it, that's already been done to death. But please think before you post.

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mitsyblue · 23/04/2020 05:55

Here we go again...the breastfeeding guilt trip...it's not the most important thing you can do at all OP Hmm

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Evasmummy2019 · 23/04/2020 07:41

OP please do not worry about the booby brigade coming out to guilt trip you. The best thing you can do is keep everything clean, avoid social interaction and be positive and strong for your gorgeous new boy. My husband has been working from day one. He has not picked anything up touch wood. We have a 17 week old baby and I know how hard all this is. You can do this OP. However you feed your baby for whatever reason, you are doing the best you can do by keeping his little belly full. Do not feel guilty

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PowerslidePanda · 23/04/2020 08:11

Hi OP - I've not got a medical background, so have no idea whether this is true, but I read that the reason young children fare so well with COVID-19 is that it affects an area of the lungs that doesn't develop until an older age. If that's true, I find it quite reassuring - it means it's no riskier to babies than any other virus that causes a fever.

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cheekybekky · 23/04/2020 08:42

Hi OP,

You'll be in the same situation as many thousands of families who have someone going to work and risking bringing the virus back home. It's not great, it carries risk, but remember the risk to your baby is relatively small- and he can reduce it further by stripping at the door and washing clothes at 60 degrees.

Sorry to sound ruthless, but many key workers have been in this position for weeks already. There are very few households who have nobody that they are particularly worried about (ie. small baby, someone with asthma, someone a bit older, someone who had pneumonia once) but who doesn't fall into the shielded category.

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LolaLollypop · 23/04/2020 08:47

The most important thing you can do is follow the Government guidelines for Covid-19 And the NHS guidelines for newborns. Your baby will be just fine, please don't worry.

I also have an 9 week old and was really nervous about the virus. For what it's worth, I suspect we may have actually had it a few weeks back before lockdown. My husband and I had sore throats, a dry cough and headache. My two children - DD aged 2 and my newborn who would have been just a few weeks old at that point, both had typical cold symptoms. Very snotty. DD also had a terrible cough.

Other friends of mine with babies who suspect they've had it have also said their babies just had symptoms of a bad cold.

There's no guarantee of course but the 'science'! Does seem to suggest that young children have a mild form of the virus.

We'll never know until we get tested of course!

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