Covid Baby Boom

[HedgehogPJs]

Just read an article on here suggesting there will be a Covid ‘baby boom’.
AIBU to expect the opposite?
You can’t get the vaccine while you’re pregnant or breastfeeding and they don’t recommend getting pregnant within 2 months of getting the second dose... so I would expect a drop in birth rates if anything?
What do you all think?

I’d expect not given we are in a pandemic, health is not guaranteed, the nhs struggling, the economy a mess etc.

However I suspect many will plough on with their wants regardless.

DH has been with me for both scans. Not been able to come to any appointments but they aren’t exactly exciting, I doubt he would have wanted to come anyway to watch my bloods and BP get taken!

In my Trust, he can be with me from the start of labour and accompany me when I first go in. Visiting hours is 3 hours per day on the wards. They are encouraging you to go home after 6 hours if it’s an uncomplicated birth and you don’t need support in hospital.

Wearing a mask for appointments is annoying but the actual care is good. I see the same community midwife every appointment.

IceCreamAndCandyfloss - do you already have children?

I think also a LOT of people didn’t think it would go on this long - I conceived back in April and definitely thought it would all be back to normal by Christmas. I miscarried and one bright spot has been that I’m very happy I’m not having a baby in the middle of hard restrictions, no NCT groups meeting in person etc. I’m pregnant again as we didn’t want to wait knowing that it could take months or years. I’m desperately hoping it will be more normal by July when I’m due. I certainly wouldn’t delay due to the vaccine - I can get it as soon as I have the baby, I’m not at all at risk, and I probably wouldn’t be eligible before late summer anyway being 30 and healthy. And from a herd immunity point of view pregnant women are a tiny subset of the population so I don’t think should be expected to wait to conceive just to get a vaccine.

@Michaelbaubles

Well, it absolutely boggles my mind that people are purposely choosing to get pregnant during a pandemic knowing their maternity care must be compromised, so basically I don’t think people really think about it other than...they want a baby right now.

I chose to get pregnant during the pandemic, because I’ve had miscarriages and am over 40.

Of course, the pandemic pregnancy was the one that stuck. Timing’s not ideal and I would have loved for one of my previous pregnancies to be successful instead, but it didn’t work out that way.

@Funkypolar now that's asking the obvious ha! I just ignore comments like that and 'plough on'

The pandemic isn't affecting us any more now than it will be doing in 2 years, the only impact on us personally is whatever the effect on the economy is. I'm low risk both in pregnancy and covid. I wont be getting a vaccine anytime soon anyway. With DHs age we didn't know long it would take, it happened to only take a couple of months which is awesome. My care has been fine, only problem being DH couldn't come into scans but we had private scans along the way so it hasn't been an issue.

I’m due in April. Perfectly happy with my life choices, stable financially and this will be our only baby as I had horrendous hyperemesis gravidarum and I cannot do this again! If some random anonymous internet person wants to judge my choice to get pregnant they can do, has no effect on my life.

@Funkypolar

I’m due in April. Perfectly happy with my life choices, stable financially and this will be our only baby as I had horrendous hyperemesis gravidarum and I cannot do this again! If some random anonymous internet person wants to judge my choice to get pregnant they can do, has no effect on my life.

Well said

I had DD in August. She was conceived end of November with us finding out mid December when Covid was a word none of us had really heard... it took nearly a year to conceive though (30 & 33, no health issues - we received our referral to fertility clinic the week before our BFP).

A friend of mind asked what I’d have done if the pandemic had hit in 2019 not 2020 and my view was that - if we’d been trying for 10 months already I’d have kept cracking on. I was very worried about fertility issues by the time we conceived her and I wouldn’t have stopped for the pandemic. I do think we’d have held off if we hadn’t already started though, back when I thought our ages and health status meant it’d be quite straightforward.

Likewise, our plans are to try for a sibling at the start of 2023, god for us but if Covid was still a thing then we’d crack on regardless as after the time it took to conceive DD I don’t think we’ve got time to play with.

I do feel very grateful though, giving birth in August was much easier than it would have been in April, so in a funny way we were lucky that it took so long to get a BFP. Plus I was worried about her being an August baby but if there is a boom for the school year of kids born Sept 2020 onwards I like that we have the option of deferring and accepting a larger year group, or not deferring and having her as a youngest member of a quieter year group.

*god forbid, not god for us

I think the boom will have already started since we’ve been in some form of restrictions for 9 months. I’m not going to have another but I have been a little broody for the first time since having DS and I think it’s because I just want something different to happen.

I’m not offended or even judgemental about what other people choose to do - it doesn’t affect me at all and everyone has their own reasons. Accidents happen. People weigh up their own pros and cons. When I say I boggle at it, I mean I can’t quite get my head around more people choosing to conceive now of all times. Which means it clearly seems more attractive now to some people, when to me it seems like the worst possible time to do it. But I didn’t take the opinion of the rest of the world into account when planning my family and nor should anyone else. Other people will have opinions though!

I keep seeing articles and threads about how horrible it is to go into labour alone (understandably) and how maternity services are very stretched and not offering the best care...it can’t be everyone’s last chance. I also see people who are going to have babies their own families can’t see for months and I don’t think I’d make that choice, if I did have the option to wait a year.

Meh. I’m due in May. Unplanned pregnancy, complete fluke. As the sexy Jeff Goldblum said in Jurassic Park “life, uh, finds a way”

@Michaelbaubles

Well, it absolutely boggles my mind that people are purposely choosing to get pregnant during a pandemic knowing their maternity care must be compromised, so basically I don’t think people really think about it other than...they want a baby right now.

Well if we pregnant women are prepared to accept a different level of maternity service than normal then surely that's up to us??? 🤷‍♀️

For me Personally I've found it fine and actually it's been less stressful and more calm since waiting rooms aren't full of bored looking partners, you can actually get a hospital car parking space and they are discharging people in post natal either same day or even after one night from a c section

@Michaelbaubles

Well, it absolutely boggles my mind that people are purposely choosing to get pregnant during a pandemic knowing their maternity care must be compromised, so basically I don’t think people really think about it other than...they want a baby right now.

Because unfortunately for myself and my OH we don't have x amount of years to wait until we can have a Baby. We have 3 months at the most 6 months at a push

I also see people who are going to have babies their own families can’t see for months and I don’t think I’d make that choice, if I did have the option to wait a year.

Wait a year from when? Now? Because if you'd waited a year since the pandemic started to affect the UK you'd have done most of it and it's not looking much better, is it? If people had an absolute end date maybe they would be more likely to assess whether they can afford to wait, but waiting 'for Covid to not be an issue' didn't feel viable to me or to lots of other people. As I said, based on past experience I thought if we started trying in 2020 we would perhaps be lucky enough to have another baby in 2023; I wasn't willing to gamble on waiting longer being an option for us.

Also a lot of appointments to sort out contraception will have been cancelled /delayed.

Career wise, for many women a recession is the ideal time to have a baby. Fewer opportunities to be missing out on. It happened during the financial crisis as well.

I did read a Meme that the baby boom would not be caused by parents homeschooling 🤣

@Starlightstarbright1 100% 😂

I also think there's some rose tintedness about how good and functional maternity services were before; when I had DS in 2018 I nearly had him on the triage ward and then I had to be kept in the labour room (with my blood still all over the floor!) overnight because they'd run out of room on postnatal and DS spent his first night on a resus table because they'd run out of cots. The general consensus among other women I knew was that I was so lucky because it meant I avoided the postnatal ward.

I'm actually quite cross at my friend's health visitor. My friend really struggled to breastfeed her baby born in May, and the health visitor told her that under normal circumstances they'd all but move into your house, so great would be the personalised, targeted support you'd receive, but alas, with covid... The thing is that woman was also my health visitor two years earlier so I know that's nonsense and a leaflet and a guilt trip is about all they ever offered, but my friend is now convinced that if it weren't for covid she'd have successfully breastfed and so she was robbed of that.

For me Personally I've found it fine and actually it's been less stressful and more calm since waiting rooms aren't full of bored looking partners

Agree. Having been wait in waiting rooms mid-miscarriage with angry couples/families effing and blinding at each other I have found the partner-free environment of Covid to be quite relaxing.

No men snoring on the post-natal ward either. Bliss.

@Mynotsoperfectlittlefamily

Contraceptive services in my area were one of the first to be stopped in the first wave. Massive increase in pregnancies, including myself. I had a coil appointment booked but it got cancelled. However there hasn't been much of an effect on the local maternity services, aside from partners not really being involved.

Condoms are sold at most supermarkets ?

We found out we were pregnant in December 2019 and had a healthy baby girl in August.

We both agree that if we’d known about the pandemic, we wouldn’t have TTC. We had planned on a second but have decided against it.