My partner is a teacher. We live together with my two children. We have been self isolating as a household as one of my DC had a cough. She is now better and the rest of us are well. My eldest DC has chronic lung disease with previous admissions for pneumonia and viral induced wheeze and takes prophylactic antibiotics. I am pregnant with a high risk pregnancy - both DCs were born very premature and it was thought that infection was the cause.
DP is due to go back in to school next week following self isolation. He requested to work from home because of the risks to me, my eldest DC and our unborn baby. If the baby were to be born early, we don't feel it would be responsible for him to visit the baby in NICU/SCBU knowing that he's been surrounded by children in the weeks and days prior. Equally, we don't feel it would be responsible for him to go to the hospital with me for delivery (assuming birth partners were even allowed at that time). But his request to work from home has been denied.
He could go and stay elsewhere, but that would mean I would be on my own with my DC. I wouldn't be able to attend my appointments, including my consultant appointments, growth scans and midwife appointments as I couldn't take the DC and I wouldn't have anyone to look after them. It could also mean he couldn't be around the baby after it's born because of the potential risk it could pose so I would be looking after 3 DC on my own and with a history of PND I have no idea how I'd manage without any support.
He has the option to take unpaid leave but with a baby on the way, that's not a great option.
He could go in to work and we just take the risk, but if anything happened to my eldest DC, or the baby, I'd never forgive myself.
What would you do in our situation?