Covid and pregnancy ??

[Erlouise]

Hi ladies
just found out I have covid at 36 weeks pregnant… little bit worried and just wondered if there’s anything I need to know from other pregnant women who have had covid while pregnant.
I called triage who said treat it like any other cold just keep temp down and keep an eye on babies movements, but was speaking to my friends and they said that they were told to down for monitoring and extra scans due to risk? Don’t really want to keep calling and bother them so just wanted some advice… thanks

A friend of mine had covid at 36 weeks and she was told the same as you - keep temp down/rest/keep an eye on movements and everything was fine. If you're worried though do phone and speak to somebody don't sit on it - you're not bothering them it's important to seek reassurance/support if you need it especially when you're pregnant. Hope you feel better soon!

The advice now is just as they said, treat as a cold, rest/hydrate and paracetamol if necessary.

I had covid in both my pregnancies at the exact same gestation, 36 weeks. First time was when covid had only been around about 8 months, and I did not do well but my baby was absolutely fine. I was on oxygen, really ill and struggling and it was scary, yet every time they monitored baby whilst I was in hospital, she was fine. She was delivered by section early in the end as I was deteriorating and neo natal were standing by and advised me she would probably need to go to neo when she arrived... she was absolutely fine and was handed to my husband after a quick check over.

Second time was last year, had a day of bad fevers, feeling unwell but other than that it was fine, second DD however did get distressed and I was kept in hospital with constant monitoring for a couple of days. I also had a scan at about 38 weeks to check everything but also we were having growth scans anyway. I would say if you're worried about movements go down and get monitored. Keep taking your temperature and take paracetamol if required. And I wouldn't be concerned about bothering them, I'm sure they will be happy to reassure you. Also, you could call/message your midwife in a week to ask for a scan to give you peace of mind.

Thank you so much ladies. I did end up going in last night for reduced movements and when I got there baby’s heart rate was really high!!! They’ve asked me to keep an eye on movements and how I’m feeling and they’ve also given me extra growth scans as apparently they don’t know how covid affects babies development!! Nightmare but just glad baby is okay!!

A close friend of mine ended up giving birth with covid (she had to wear a mask in the delivery room but I can only hope this wouldn't be the case now) and her and baby were absolutely fine.

As others have said, treat it like any other respiratory illness, keep fluids up, eat regularly - and do what you'd do with keeping an eye on baby's movements just as normal.

I hope you feel better soon!