Is anyone putting TTC on hold because of corona?

[Namechanger0800]

My DH has suggested it might be prudent while we see what happens with the pandemic? I think pg women have reduced immune systems and then there's obv increasing pressure on health services which worries me about impact on other care incl. maternity services

But then I'm in my 40s.......

Oh that's a tough one. If you were in your 30's I'd say hold off a couple of months. Let the worse of the out break happen.

In your 40's getting pregnant might not be that easy getting pregnant so every month you delay makes it harder.

I'd say keep trying but be absolutely up there with your personal hygiene and the environment around you, ie your desk at work, mobile phone.

Btw I'm talking as someone who caught swine flu when pregnant and tried for 4 years for my second late 30s/ early 40s.

Nope. Within 4 months it'll have hit its peak. And you'll either be dead or fine anyway. And there'll be some other reason not to get pregnant instead. I'm 37. Its not happening for me quickly so I'm not about to put it on hold all year. We aren't trying next month but that's because I don't want an end of December due date. 😂 After that things should be clearer anyway.

www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/coronavirus-covid-19-virus-infection-in-pregnancy-2020-03-09.pdf

Sent from my obstetrician

We've just started trying this month and think we will go ahead as planned! Sorry for the change of subject but just out of interest it says my fertile window starts tomorrow so I think if we are lucky enough to conceive the due date would be early December? Just in relation to the post saying they would miss a month to avoid a late December baby we would probably do the same but not sure when to avoid? Am I right that if I conceived this window it would be early December? I know it's all a bit of an unknown and luck but just out of interest!

We did consider, but then who knows how long it may go in for, and will it return next year? I'm 33 but just feel like if I didn't continue to give it my all id then have the 'what ifs' looming
If we are lucky enough to conceive extra precautions and staying away from large crowds etc. Obviously tricky if you can't though. Do what's best for you 🌸

@MayDay27 You can use calculators online for prediction. Obviously babies can come early or late. I've just ovulated and it would make it 2nd dec. Ideally I wouldn't want that. Or a January baby. But I can't afford to miss 3 cycles. So I'm just missing the one that would pitch it 30th dec. Personally for me, having a winter baby is something I never wanted (I'm January born) and also logistically with life, it'll be much more difficult for me that time of year too. But obviously you can't exactly choose and afford to put it on hold at my age.

I'm mid way through our first IVF round. I'd say yes, TTC because you wont know how long it might take. yes, pregnant women have reduced immunity, but the limited data I've read says you are unlikely to be sicker than normal for corona, even if pregnancy. good luck.

Me and my husband have also been debating this. We had a MMC in December and decided to wait 3months before trying again. I started a similar thread and had a few responses and in the end we've decided to carry on as planned. We thought about waiting a while to see how this all plays out but figured this virus could hang around for months and we don't want to delay things that long.

There isn't any research yet on implications for early pregnancy but the evidence on the few who have caught it later in pregnancy is reassuring.

I'm having this dilemma

I'm in my 40s and had a mc last year that required hospital treatment and I am thinking it's more likely to go wrong again because of my age and do I want to be anywhere near a hospital if that happens at the moment!

But again if it's going to last 4 months I don't have 4 months to wait really...

I want to start TTC again but DP is going to say we shouldn't due to coronavirus. I'm 42 so don't have the option of waiting for this to be over and as far as I can see, I'll be no more compromised pregnant than I am already.

I nearly started this thread myself OP. I had a MC at 7 weeks last month and I would like to TTC again. I'm reasonably comfortable that if I did get Covid-19 then it would be no more harmful to me as a pregnant woman than regular flu, which is a risk we are usually willing to take.

However I think the big consideration now is the health service and whether a lot of routine appointments, checks etc will get cancelled under the strain. People like midwives make get called into more general healthcare if the situation is bad. Even if it is t then a lot of midwives and doctors May be off sick and PG women might not receive the level of care they usually would.

Another thing to consider is that if you TTC now then you'll have a winter due date, and this outbreak could still be in full force at the end of this year and the hospitals under a lot of strain.

I'm thinking about waiting until June/July, which isn't that long really, and then at least I'd have a spring due date and by which point the health service might be ok? Who knows. However I'm 32 so have time on my side to some extent and I know not everyone does.

I’ve considered this but already feel I’ve put on hold TTC our second for a lot of other reasons and can’t carry on doing so. I’ll be 36 soon and obviously that isn’t old but would like to get cracking really. Corona will be around for a long time (although not at this level of intensity) so fit of just as easily end up catching it in 6 months etc.

*could just as easily

@bananallamas I'm pregnant and worried this but my friend is a paeds ward nurse and said they won't move midwives to other areas. The skills aren't transferable to those with respiratory problems. Plus women can't hold their babies in! The concern is of course them being off sick, but most people get a mild dose and recover quickly.

OP in your shoes I wouldn't delay TTC because of this

@ChipsAreLife in normal circumstances no they wouldn't ask midwives to do respiratory nursing. But we just don't know what will happen; and these aren't normal circumstances. They are probably more likely to ask midwives to do general nursing than shop workers or builders.

Given that no one has a crystal ball it's probably sensible to TTC if you really want or have limited time. Personally I have high risk pregnancies, need consultant led care with a lot of scans and routine checks. If I don't have access to all of that it would make me feel more anxious. So I will probably wait a couple of months for now x

Also I'm not suggesting that ALL care for pregnant women would disappear. Just that any spare capacity and non-emergency/essential resources in the health service, wherever that may be, could be directed towards caring for the many many people who could become unwell.

I'm wondering about this too. I came off the mini pill a couple of weeks ago and am waiting for my period to come back before TTC DC2 but I'm wondering if I should wait a bit longer. I'm 35 though so while i'm not in my 40s I still feel conscious of time running out and I have delayed it the past few months already. I think my DH would say to TTC anyway but everything just seems so uncertain at the moment. Not that I think it would be necessarily more harmful when pregnant but the NHS being under more strain is concerning and I would be a 'high risk' pregnancy

I'd be more worried about getting an ICU bed if you need one.
If you become ill with your lungs infected you could end up in ICU. Hence my initial advice from the point of view of a Mum who landed there with swine flu / pneumonia and a mum of a IVF baby.

If you're in your early 30's holding off a few months isn't going to make any real difference. But if your older you need to balance that with the lower odds of getting pregnant.

@bananallamas that would literally be the very last resort because essentially you're risking two lives not just one. I think most people would understand that staff need to care for pregnant woman and nurses as much as those with coronavirus.

@bananallamas I can appreciate your situation though as your high risk. I'm just trying to reassure pregnant women that it's highly unlikely we will be left to fend for ourselves

The medical priority would be the mother. The baby is a secondary concern. If you need a lung x-ray, 'we worry more about baby's in 1st and 2nd tri, but we'll put a lead apron over yours 3rd tri bump'.

Honestly if you have time on your side hold off for a few months.

@ChipsAreLife I agree that in situations like EMC the care of pregnant women would probably still take priority. But we already have such an underfunded system that women are sometimes left to 'fend for themselves' to some extent - not enough beds on the ward so told to labour at home. Not enough midwives as it is. The other week I went to hospital due to complications with my MC - it was a weekend evening. There were two doctors to cover the whole of EPU, labour ward, MAU and delivery suite. That is before Covid was an issue. It really isn't that far fetched to think we could be in a situation where there are not enough doctors or nurses due to staff sickness and needing to help those in ICU.

Also hospitals could be literally full up with Covid patients. We don't have the space or resources to just build new ones like China did.

I'm honestly not trying to panic anyone but I think people are kind of trying to convince themselves that it can't get THAT bad. But there's no reason it can't. Just because we haven't experienced anything like this before, doesn't mean it won't happen.

Just another thought - are people going to BD (that wouldn’t otherwise be TTC) out of boredom when we are all self isolating and stuck in the house with only their partner for company ?
Are maternity services going to be heaving in 9 months time anyway, regardless of whether COVID19 is still about?

@JeanieInABottle I wondered this too. But I think it's more likely to stay stable. There will be extra PGs due to being stuck indoors (like at Xmas! High sept birth rate) but there will also be people who have avoided TTC because of uncertainty or because they've been poorly themselves. So I think it will stay stable.