Coronavirus and 7 months pregnant

[Jrobhatch29]

Help.
Im in a complete panic about coronavirus. Im 7 months pregnant and also have a 7 year old and a 4 year old.
Im absolutely terrified of the coronavirus spreading in the uk, to the point I am having constant panic attacks and refreshing the news every 10 mins. Im so scared for my baby and my children.
Am i blowing this totally out of proportion?

I actually feel guilty for having a baby with all this going on

My parents were both born while Hitler was jackbooting his way around Europe.

A tiny bit of perspective is warranted. You are having babies in one of the safest places and times in history.

My anxiety is really overwhelming but i feel its justified

That is the problem.

Why do you think it's justified? Can't you try to convince yourself it's not justified?

For one, if you are in the UK, or most other countries, it has not been spreading like in Italy. There is no reason to think it will, if those countries have also had cases, but transmission has been fairly contained.

IMO, there is something about Italy (health system) or Italians (culture, habits) that has made it worse.

Look at what's happening in your country and your area instead.

Erm. No. I didn’t tag people to tell them you were mentally ill. I tagged them to point out that comments to suggest health anxiety is logical and fine and a proportional reaction to the risk is not sensible.
It’s sensible to wash hands. That’s about it.

Sensible to wash hands and limit large public gatherings. I wish people would stop downplaying it

With all due respect unless you have an anxiety problem and are pregnant you really cant comment on how i should be feeling. As you can see from the other posters who are also pregnant, they are worried too as we face an uncertain time bringing our babies into the world.

Lets just hope it has some kind of seasonality and calms down/buggers off whilst are babies arrive

I'm just under 13 weeks pregnant with a 3 and 5 year old. I don't feel anxious at all about it. I travelled abroad last week for work and spent a fair amount of time in London.

What news sources are you reading? Some are really whipping everyone up into a frenzy. You're most at risk to die if you're a man over 60 or with an existing condition such as cardiovascular, diabetes or respiratory. The majority of people will only get a mild dose of it and be fine. No children under 10 have died. You need to read the facts and rationalise it. There is a 2% chance of dying, that means if you get it a 98% chance of survival. Even then it's lower if you're under 60 and female. Pregnant women seem no more vulnerable. You can't get much better odds than that.

I was pregnant during the 2014 Ebola virus now that made me anxious.

My biggest concern is the economy and impact on the NHS.

I should add my children have asthma

I wish people would stop saying its just a 2% death rate. So was the spanish flu...

I do understand your points and whilst i can rationalise them, it is more the practicalities of actually having a baby at a time when the nhs will be so strained that concerns me. Its also things like maybe having nobody come to meet the baby if alot of people are affected

I am immunosuppressed and also have anxiety and depression.
That doesn’t mean I can’t put this in perspective.

OP you can't compare this with the Spanish flu. The Spanish flu was over a hundred years ago just after World War One. Medical care has evolved significantly in that time. Spanish flu also affected younger people, Coronavirus affects older people.

I have to have a c section if it's really bad then I won't have anyone bar DH to see me for three days. Shit yes, but worth protecting my family and it's not long.

I would really try focus on positives and not negatives to minimise your anxiety.

Anxiety makes you die a thousand times before your death.

There was an entirely unprecedented lock down when I had DD. No visitors allowed for a couple of days. I couldn't have predicted it two months before and it was perfectly fine.

And Spanish flu affected young for people. This affects the elderly, which means not you and your child.

Some perspective:

www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/coronavirus-age-sex-demographics/

Death rates:

0-9 years old - no fatalities

30-39 years old - 0.2%
20-29 years old - 0.2%

Plus, females account for 1/3 of deaths.

The chances of you or your children dying are very small. Even of becoming seriously ill.

it is more the practicalities of actually having a baby at a time when the nhs will be so strained that concerns me

You will not be in the same wards.
The staff in infectious diseases wards are not the same as in the maternity wards.

If you look on world o meter at the italy figures it is not so reassuring though. Nearly 50% needing to be hospitalised and 10% in intensive care.

@Lweji except for the fact that the CDC confirmed pregnant women are in the higher risk category as are children with sever asthma

Italy has the second highest elderly population after Japan in the world, the Coronavirus is worse there because of this.

except for the fact that the CDC confirmed pregnant women are in the higher risk category as are children with sever asthma

Does the OP have children with severe asthma?

The CDC says it's not known, and any comments relate to previous outbreaks.

What's the known mortality rate for pregnant women? As far as I know there have been cases, but none reported as dead and I haven't seen news of being seriously ill.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2020/03/03/health/coronavirus-pregnant-women-babies.amp.html

tp.amegroups.com/article/view/35919/28274

A newborn with coronavirus has died according to this

And 300000 under 5s die of malaria each year. I assume you don't worry about that. Because it currently isn't a credible threat to you. Just like this.

The reason it's bad numbers in Italy is because they are testing people with no symptoms which a lot of countries aren't and there are many people with no symptoms or who are carriers only - if USA actually tested they would bace thousand and thousands of cases!

@MrsTerryPratchett not a credible threat? I suggest you read that report on how its causing pre term labour, poorly newborns and a newborn death and then come back to me

It doesn't actually say it caused the death.

That's a really vague study. No wonder it's not been referenced anywhere.

For a start it doesn't say if the mothers had any underlying health conditions, if they were induced and what caused the infant to die.

OP in the nicest way possible you're interrupting everything in the worse way without giving it thought or examining the data. That may just be you or you may need some help. Either way I don't know what would help you but wish you the best

OP I have a 4 week old and also have anxiety. It is scary, you want to do everything to protect your baby, I totally understand where you are coming from. I was terrified the last part of my pregnancy that I would catch it, and stopped family returning from the alps and one cousin back from China meeting her for a couple of weeks.

I think it is a thin line between being vigilant and cautious, and in my book just sensible really, and becoming obsessive to the point it is unhealthy. Your posts really resonate with me as I follow the same obsessive thoughts as you. Lean on your midwife. Mine was a godsend and still pops in for a cuppa and to cuddle my baby every week!

I had a ventouse delivery with my first baby 2 years ago and 4 weeks ago today had a completely healthy, straightforward home birth with my second! So it can happen. Every birth and delivery is different. Don’t write it off yet as an option, it could well help manage your anxiety to keep it as an option?

I hope you start feeling less anxious soon and find a way to cope with these emotions. It is very hard but it won’t do you or baby any good to keep worrying, I speak from experience!