If you pregnant, will you be sending your other child to school 1st June..?

[NicLondon1]

Just that really.. I am pregnant and have a Reception aged child. Some parents are saying absolutely not, some are fine with it. So many factors to consider; local infection rates, death rates, schools measures yet to be put in place, availability of antibody tests....
We are on the fence and still discussing, leaning towards a No to avoid risk. Any thoughts..?

Yes, I will. I’m 11 weeks at the moment, and studies seem to indicate that the risk to pregnant women is only increased in the 3rd trimester. For me, that will be September, at which point I’ll be in contact with hundreds of pupils and probably taking public transport, so it would be better for me to get it earlier than later!

There does seem to be low transition rates between small children, and low risk to them if they do get it. As I wouldn’t want to keep my DD off long term, to me it makes sense to let her go back. I assume transition risk will be very much higher come September when they will presumably be in total normal ratios and unable to social distance at all.

I think it does depend where you are though. I’m in SE, and it’s possible that London an outlying areas will be approaching herd immunity levels towards the end of the academic years. That definitely won’t be the case in Wales/Scotland, so it’s a different balance of risk.

I was going to ask the same question! Except about nurseries - if you are pregnant, would you be sending your other child/children to nursery when it opens? Our DS is nearly 2, and I’d be worried about him not socialising for so long, but he was constantly picking up what seemed like every cold from that nursery! We are still considering whether to start trying for the second one, but if I do get pregnant and nurseries open in the next couple of months, we’ll have quite a dilemma! Wondering what other pregnant people’s plans are!

I am definitely not. But I'm not working so can stay at home and keep home education going, I understand that's not the case for a lot of people.

But I don't think it's completely safe to go back yet no. So many people are still diying and I want to protect the vunerable as well as my own family unit

Also there won't be fines so it will definitely be September before I send her back. My mums a nurse and she thinks it's very bad the government have made this decision, mostly as children are carriers and can pass the virus on to the vunerable, either vunerable children or vunerable adults.

I mean me being pregnant will probably be fine, and my partner is young and healthy as is out 2 year old. Keeping them off is to protect others and our community as a whole.

I am working from home and am 15 weeks pregnant. I won't be sending my daughter to nursery, I am just too worried about the risk.
Yes, they say it is most dangerous in the third trimester but it hasn't been around long enough to know the effects on the baby/mum in the first and second trimester.
Do what's best for your circumstances and health xx

My other daughter is ten I should have added.

People do seem to miss the point a bit with this school stuff I'm finding. It's not about you being ok, you'll be no dount fine and so will your children unless they have underlying health conditions. It's speeding the virus to OTHERS that is the bad thing about it. Others who are compromised.

*spreading

I'm 36 weeks pregnant and I am withdrawing my son from nursery for the foreseeable. My dad is in his 70's so I will be self isolating for the sake of his (and my families safety) as my parents are the people I will be seeing when allowed to do so. I think it's a really personal decision, there is no right or wrong, you just have to go with your gut feeling.

I'm 35 weeks pregnant and I wanted to know other opinions of this, my DD is 2 and a half and I am desperate for just a few hours to rest. She is becoming more challenging and bored. I will be 37 weeks when nursery is open and I have had a lot of raised eyebrows about me wanted to send her 2 mornings a week

@NicLondon1 I have a child in preschool and he definitely wont be returning. He's starting reception in September and I'm enjoying having him at home. I have another one in year 1 and I'm still undecided. I'm still worried about the risks, have no idea how they will achieve social distancing when they don't understand the meaning of a meter, and I dont want it to be a stressful experience for my daughter where she's constantly told she cant do this and that. I'm not even convinced they will be learning much as school said they'd be increasing playtime and have them outside as much as possible. Maybe she would learn more by staying at home with me. I'm lucky I can work from home and homeschool at the same time. I told her school she would go back one day a week but I'll decide closer to the time depending on the infection rates etc in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for your responses. @crazychemist and @Natalie654321 - I hadn't actually realised it affects us worse in the 3rd trimester!
I am about to enter it so that really does change things for me personally.
I found this advice from the RCOG, based on their study published only last week:
www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/guidelines/coronavirus-pregnancy/covid-19-virus-infection-and-pregnancy/

I’m 15 weeks pregnant and have a reception aged child. I’m completely on the fence about it and I’m going to leave it to the last possible minute to decide. I want to see what happens with the numbers over the next 2 weeks and hear the school’s plan on how they deal with it. If it’s just childcare then I won’t bother but she will benefit from learning and social interaction. I’m more worried about September when I’ll be third trimester and it might be compulsory. I also have a pre school aged child but they won’t be going as it’s not really necessary. I’m not even sure about keeping her place for next year as I want to minimise risk as much as possible.

I definitely won’t be doing it on the 1st of June. If you really need to send your child back for whatever reason, I’d recommend you wait 2-4 weeks. See what the impact is on transmission then make the call. xx

35 weeks and DD (2) will not be going back to nursery when it reopens. We are lucky that they are offering us a retainer fee which will be used when she does return due to our circumstances. It’s to be reviewed monthly but as it stands DD is off nursery at least until 1st July, by then we will hopefully have a better view of what’s going on and can make a more informed decision

Probably not - but I’m still debating. My eldest 2 are years 10 and 12 so have GCSEs and A Levels next year. If I wasn’t pregnant they would most definitely be going back but I’ll be approaching 34 weeks and really don’t want to risk bringing covid in to the house near my due date. Hubby is out at work though and still popping to the shops etc so maybe there is more risk of him bringing it home?
My other 2 kids are y2 and y4 so no date set for them yet. I don’t feel 6 more weeks at home will disrupt their education much more, unlike the older ones.

Both my husband and I were not 100% certain up until this weekend, but the recent news report of the seven/eight month old baby who contradicted Kawasaki-like symptoms of Covid-19 (in the UK) and just died (no previous underlying health concerns, but instead very healthy baby) and the recent death of few days old baby who contracted the disease and died days later has shaken us to the core. There is not enough knowledge or science out there to be certain of anything with this virus. I accept that. And in accepting it, we (as a family) are making our decisions accordingly.
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/13/three-day-old-baby-dies-after-mother-catches-coronavirus-south-wales

There are still so many questions out there - and yes, they will remain out there for a long while to come. We can’t control that, but we’ve decided we can control keeping our five year old home for the following few more months in hopes more will
be discovered, medical community gets a stronger handle on things (given space and time it needs) and we aren’t a contributing spreader to our community and society - all the while keeping our family unit safe (5 & 3 year old, plus I am 25 weeks pregnant).

I agree with other posters above - there is no “right” answer. Everyone must consider the options and their personal situations.

This is personal and many many people will need schools to open for their children based on their own personal circumstances. Vulnerable children will greatly benefit from the June opening (poverty stricken, abusive family situation, lack of food at home, lack of guidance and care) - often times schools represent “home” and “safety” to many. I am certain the opening is a very good decision for some. No one should judge anyone because none will know their personal needs or situation.

We are working from home so we can choose to keep our children away for a bit longer. In the grand scheme of things - it’s only a few more months until Sept begins a new academic year. It certainly won’t be easy for us but it’s manageable.

I wish everyone safe and healthy pregnancies and births ... and may the sunshine continue all summer long allowing us to enjoy the time at home with our families, for as long as we can. 💗☀️🌈

Currently 33 weeks and my DSD isn't one of the first years to go back . Looking at her schools plan she would be due to go back around my due date and we just don't think we can take that risk . It's so hard thou. She loves school but has coped incredibly well during lock down ( she is autistic )

The back to school debate for us is possibly the hardest thing we have had to decide . Her education is so important but as someone else pointed out the two covid 19 baby related deaths this weekend have terrified me.

The other worry I would have is we have isolated so well till now. If one of us caught it close to labour DH wouldn't be allowed to be with me .

@MrsAmelia just to try and slightly reassure you, for the 3 day old baby, coronavirus was not the cause of death, the baby was born unwell. There are been lots of babies (including a very premature one) who have contracted the virus and have recovered just fine xxx

My sons in nursery but I won't be sending him back on 1st June. Currently 13 weeks and working from home so will juggle this way for another month and reassess for beginning of July.

No, but i'm due on 1st July so in third trimester. I would send her back if i were in my 2nd trimester as i can see that only seeing me and her Dad is starting to not be enough. Her behaviour is deteriating and she tells me she is sad not to see anyone else

I haven't fully decided, but am leaning towards not. I have a five and three year old and will be in my third trimester by then. I'm waiting to see what the schools proposal is, but I can't see how you can effectively socially distance that she group, and nor do I believe you should.

Really difficult to know what to do, though, and as noted above, for some children going back to school is exactly what they need right now.

school's and age group

I'll be 32w, high risk pregnancy so won't be sending my 5y back to the reception class. I feel said, as she loves school and misses her friends, but we've been isolating for the past 2m and just can't take the risk. I understand kids need to get back to school so parents can start working, i work full time, but don't think they should start with the 4-5y olds..they just don't understand the social distancing. I've seen on TV news about the schools which reopened in Denmark etc, but they keep forgetting to tell people that in those countries, kids don't start school till they are 6-7y old, not 4-5 like in UK. It's a huge difference. Plus in most EU counties everyone seems to wear a mask, even little kids..can hardly see any on UK streets..Currently they say that the highest risk is during the last trimester but the truth is that they don't have enough data, evidence. I would love my dd go back to school but i can't see how the social distancing is going to work during lunch times, play times etc. How are they going to deep clean the place every day, etc..

15wks pregnant and yes my very active 2 year old will be going back to nursery as soon as it opens- she needs it/ I need it- I have far less anxiety over the covid risk than I do the emotional/ social/ practical skills she’s missing out on being at home whilst we try and work.

12 weeks and will be sending my nearly 3 year old back when it opens.