Vaccinated mums - how careful are you being?

[VegMam]

For those expectant mums who are fully vaccinated, are you taking any additional precautions or totally back to normal?

I’m pretty much back to normal (travelling on busy commuter train, going to small parties etc.) but avoiding large social gatherings. However, I do feel a bit nervous about the busy trains and offices as third trimester is nearing.

It’s very hard to gauge how careful to be and I’ve not seen any stats around the impact of catching Covid when pregnant and fully vaccinated (except of course that the vaccine offers protection against serious infection).

I'm not taking any extra precautions. I find wearing a mask makes me breathless now so I've stopped that. We have loads of exposure as a family anyway that I can't control - two kids in primary school, one kid in nursery and husband is a secondary school teacher, so it just doesn't feel worth it to be careful about eg going to the shops.

I’m not really doing anything too extra tbh. Been to a couple of weddings in the last couple of months, attending smallish parties for birthdays, baby showers etc (mine is today actually) and generally just trying to get on with life. Obviously I wouldn’t purposely socialise with someone who was coughing and spluttering, or showing bad cold symptoms, but I wouldn’t anyway, I don’t want to get sick if I can help it, whatever the cause!

I've been fairly cautious but have still gone to things like weddings and had to travel abroad for one (brother's wedding so had to be there). Have gone to some family gatherings and seen friends. Have also been inside in a few cafes and restaurants too.
I'm still wearing masks in shops and avoid others when out and about.
We are considering being more cautious 2 weeks before baby's due date, so we are going to self-isolate during this time (and if baby's arrival is later than due date). This is just to try and ensure that my husband doesn't catch Covid and then therefore wouldn't be able to attend the birth. We will still be going out for walks outside, but will do supermarket orders. Luckily I'll be starting mat leave and my husband WFH.

I have a toddler in nursery, nothing can be worse than that

I'm not doing anything different because I don't care about Covid. I've never done anything differently.

Im 3rd trimester and working full time in a role which can be public facing and with staff who do as they please outside of work (no PPE etc). We are under rules tonwear masks every day, all day.
Outside of work I still wear a mask when shopping but have recently attended a wedding and a few gigs wherr masks were not worn.
From the begining of november DH will stop working in london again and from a few weeks before due date we will basically isolate to prevent him getting covid and me being left alone in labour.

I think its personal preference now. Alot depends on your home and work circumstances and whether you can minimise risks easily.
Were just being careful but not saying no to everything.

I am triple jabbed and taking no other precautions.

I think about all of the risks. Covid is a risk - mitigated by vaccination - but there are other risks too. If I isolate myself, my mental health will suffer. If I don't work, I'm broke. If I lose connection with friends and family through covid fear, then where will my village be?

I feel like vaccination and living normally is the best thing to do for my whole health and wellbeing.

I’m pretty much carrying on as normal except wearing a mask indoors (it’s compulsory to wear one where I work anyway).
Although I have now decided I’m not going to any big events like birthday parties/Christmas work meals etc in the near future.
There’s a cold going round where I am and I caught it. It’s really taken a lot out of me including a week off work and I know it’s not the same as covid and I’m vaccinated against covid so hopefully I shouldn’t get too ill but I really don’t want to go through feeling like this again especially as I reach 3rd trimester, so I’m avoiding anything with lots of people and gatherings.

I'm at 32 weeks and I'm off to the theatre today (rearranged 4 times due to covid). Everyone who enters either has to prove they are double jabbed or lateral flow within 48 hours. Nothing is risk free but I can't put my life on hold as that's going to happen when baby is born anyway

DP and I go out an meet people and do fairly normal stuff, but will choose to sit outside or in well ventilated places (as that will reduce risk hugely). And we wear a mask in the supermarket etc and would avoid crowds. I now in the last few weeks, so we are being extra cautious, as he may miss the birth if he caught covid. I know non pregnant youngish vaccinated otherwise healthy people who have caught it and needed to be in bed for several days, so i don't want to get it now. Also the other respiratory infections going around are quite bad at the moment, and with a chunk of lung space taken up by baby and normal for immune system not being so strong during pregnancy, it could take time to get over those infections. I've also had the flu vaccine a few weeks ago.

I'm fully vaccinated and in my second trimester. Like a previous poster, I'm now finding that wearing a mask makes me breathless so I've had to stop that. Plus I'm also going through a phase at the moment where I'll need to vomit but have about 3 seconds warning before it happens so the thought of having to rip a mask off my face in order to chuck up in my handbag actually gives me anxiety 😂

The only thing I suppose I'm being cautious about is avoiding people I know who are ill (coughs/colds/flu, not necessarily covid) but that's mainly because being pregnant I can't take anything for it if I do get ill.

Just gone back to normal really, DD is at nursery and me and DP are both at work anyway. If i was closer to giving birth then i'd probably be more cautious

Wow ok, so just me? I am still being very careful: mask on indoors everywhere, only eating/coffee outdoors, meeting small groups of people, washing/sanitising hands after touching anything, avoiding public transport where possible (esp. London), not going in shops unnecessarily, not going near unvaccinated people, and so forth. The pandemic is not over, and I am concerned for my household but especially worried about unknowingly contributing to spreading covid to others this winter.

It'd be different if I had children in school; not much you can do then. But for me the situation is fine, I can work, I can socialise, it's not a massive bother to keep following recommendations and I really feel this is a 'better safe than sorry' situation.

Also back to normal. DH is back at the office 3 days a week, I work at the hospital, and DD is at nursery. Also definitely getting breathless when wearing a mask, so not wearing one quite so much. But then I'm only early on in the 2nd trimester. Closer to birth I will err much more towards caution.

Same as @anonymousXXIX for me. I am working from home now and avoiding indoor gatherings as I am 38 weeks now. I think most of it is me not wanting to catch it or DP to miss the birth rather than worrying of being really ill
Also I would hate to put other mothers at risk as I go to the maternity ward fairly often.
A lot of the adaptations I can make easily to my life so I agree I am better safe than sorry e.g. Click and collect food shops as they are easy and save me money, Avoiding shops at busy times where I can, meeting outdoors in small amounts, no close contact within 2m outside my household for now.

then when baby is earthside I can ease it up and will meet indoors after lateral flows i think. It really is personal though, about how comfortable you feel and how easy it is to reduce risk. You don't want to damage mental health as PP says

I’m just into my third trimester and had my booster through the week. I work in the NHS but stopped seeing patients face to face from 28 weeks. I’ve socialised quite bit over the summer, but will probably be a bit more careful from now - I’ve said no to Christmas nights out with work and friends already (more because I know I’ll be knackered than fear of Covid!). Being vaccinated, I’m not massively concerned about being very ill if I did catch it, but as my due date draws near I’ll probably be quite cautious (as will DH) as I really don’t want either of us Covid positive when the time comes. DD is in school though so we can’t fully eliminate the risk.

I’m not really taking any extra precautions. My son goes to school and my husband is in the office 2 days a week commuting on the train so realistically if I’m going to get it it will be from one of them.

I'm being just as careful as before I was vaccinated. I don't really understand the going back to normal after a vaccine approach when pregnant - the risks are smaller but still there - though I appreciate it is individual choice and individual situations, so of course everyone must do what they judge to be right for them.

It might also be because I'm 40 and asthmatic too, which are also risk factors for worse covid outcomes. Plus I know people who have died with Covid and I treat people with Long Covid who are severely disabled. For me, in the third trimester, I'd rather be a bit of a hermit for 3 months and minimise the risks to myself and baby. We have the unavoidable risk of an older child in school and for me I don't see any reason to add in further activities that would be in additin to this.

Sounds like I’m an outlier. But I’m having a v high risk pregnancy and my husband is CEV (just been offered his booster - yay!)

I don’t do anything really now I’m in the 3rd trimester. My son is in reception and that’s my biggest risk of exposure. Everything else I can mitigate so I do. DH works mainly from home and is always masked when he goes out. We do some outdoor things like the park, National trust gardens and that’s it apart from essential medical check ups.

DH goes to the supermarket but he’s going to stop doing that in the late 3rd trimester. We’re essentially going to isolate apart from school - we just can’t pull DS out. It wouldn’t be fair to him.

Nothing extra but avoiding supermarkets at the weekend and busy venues where possible. I have to have faith in the vaccine or id go mad

I’m in my second trimester and have a son in nursery, which is obviously far and away my biggest risk of exposure and there’s nothing I can do to mitigate it! I’m still wearing a mask and avoiding large events. My employer has also encouraged me to continue WFH. But I have done things like go to restaurants and pubs at quiet times.

I think I’ll gradually increase my caution as I head into my third trimester and will isolate from around 38 weeks (including keeping son off nursery).

I'm double jabbed and have been really careful throughout, no indoor meetups, only essential trips to work, supermarket etc.

I'm now 36 weeks and my eldest DC has brought it home from nursery and passed it on to me. I'm not too unwell but I actually wish I'd been less careful and caught it earlier, because if I go into labour early, I'll have to do the birth by myself, then care for baby by myself in hospital and panic about passing it on to baby because I'll be the only one allowed to care for it.

I’ve got about 4 or so weeks left until I’m due. I have been working from home, avoiding public transport, wearing a mask indoors, often choosing to meet people outdoors etc. But I’ve also been going to restaurants/cafes, going swimming and was at some outdoor events/weddings in recent months. And I have a child at nursery.

But with a month or so to go, I’m trying to weight up how cautious I should be. I probably have to go into London via public transport next week for a meeting. And we have friends due to come over this weekend and next. But maybe from 38 weeks, I’ll try to reduce contacts even more (except child will still go to nursery). My husband thinks I’m too cautious, but I really don’t want covid giving birth. And I really don’t want him to have to miss the birth because he has covid.

@TheCheeseBadge hope you recover quickly and the baby holds out for its due date. Most be worrying for you.

I'm not really doing anything extra and don't wear a mask as I get so out of breath and the mask makes me feel like I can't breathe!!

I do however try to avoid big gatherings like the marathon/tubes when my family member ran it