Giving Birth in a Pandemic — Valerie Barrette, Annie Daigneault et Olivia Olesinski

Alex Maheux:

With the COVID-19 pandemic evolving at a rapid pace, it’s possible that circumstances may have changed since this interview was originally recorded, and may not accurately represent the current situation.

Hello, and welcome to the Canadian Health Information Podcast. I’m your host, Alex Maheux.

In this program from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, we’ll be taking a look at Canada’s health care systems with the help of some highly qualified experts. Stay with us to hear more about our health policies and systems and the work being done to promote the health of Canadians.

COVID-19 has disrupted a lot of plans. But it couldn’t stop deliveries from the stork. Today, we’ll discuss the number one reason for hospitalizations in this country every year: childbirth. In fact, just this past year, CIHI reported over 360,000 hospitalizations for childbirth, and C-sections were the most commonly reported inpatient surgery. Today we’ll be talking to some new mothers about their experiences being pregnant and then giving birth in the middle of the worst pandemic in a century. Our guests are Olivia, from Toronto, Ontario; Annie, near Montréal, Quebec; and Valerie, in Ottawa, Ontario.

Keep in mind that the opinions and comments of our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Canadian Institute for Health Information. So let’s get down to business.

Greetings, everyone. Welcome to the CIHI podcast. Let’s start by introducing our panel today. First, Olivia in Toronto. Hello, Olivia. Would you please introduce yourself, tell us about when you gave birth, and also about the newest addition to your family?

Olivia:

Sure. Hi, I’m Olivia. I live in Toronto with my family, there are 4 of us. There’s my husband Tom, I have a son named Marshall who’s four-and-a-half years old, and Fia who turned 4 months old this year.

Alex Maheux:

Ah! Congratulations. And hello, Annie in Quebec.

Annie:

Yes, hello. I had my baby in April of last year. He’s now 1 year old. His name is Phillippe. He was my first, and I’m expecting my second child this fall.

Alex Maheux:

Good news to kick off the podcast. And finally, we have Valerie in the capital city of Ottawa.

Valerie:

Yes, hello. Well, my name is Valerie Barrette. There are 4 of us in the family. There’s my husband Brandon, my oldest son Émile was born in April 2019, and my son Toulouse was born 2 months ago, on March 5, 2021.

Alex Maheux:

Congratulations. We’ll start with Annie, in Quebec. What was your very first thought when you found out you were expecting? Can you remember how you felt, and also when you realized that it might not be a typical experience?

Annie:

Well, actually we got married in August 2019. I got pregnant on my honeymoon. So, we were very happy. Of course, there was no COVID yet. We heard about it, but it was far away, in Asia. Everything was going well, the pregnancy was going well, it was very good news, and then I’d say it was at the end of the pregnancy when things got more difficult and stressful. It was difficult for both of us, for me and my husband, because it was our first child.

Alex Maheux:

And Valerie, this wasn’t your first experience, so how was it for you? What was your first thought when you realized that this was going to be a bit different from your first experience?

Valerie:

Yeah, well, actually, we sort of planned it based on what happened in early 2020. I actually hadn’t planned on getting pregnant in 2020. My husband and I both work for Global Affairs Canada and we were supposed to go on assignment to Japan last fall, the fall of 2020, but the pandemic meant that our assignment had to be cancelled. So there we were in the spring of 2020, with really not much to do, so we thought, why not try for a second one? That’s kind of how it worked out for us. So in a way, I knew that from the beginning. The timing of my delivery meant it wouldn’t be like my first baby.

Alex Maheux:

Olivia, this was also your second time around. Was it the same for you as for Valerie, or was it a different experience?

Olivia:

It was a bit different than Valerie. Yes, it was our second pregnancy. This was a planned pregnancy. I got pregnant during the first few weeks of the pandemic and we couldn’t predict that one year later, we’d still be in this situation. We were very happy, but we didn’t really know what to expect. My experience and feelings really changed throughout the pandemic.

Alex Maheux:

Annie, you mentioned this a bit, but let me ask the 3 of you, how did it go with your pregnancy? Did you have to change your childbirth plans because of the pandemic?

Annie:

For me, in March, it was when my in-laws came back from Mexico for my shower. I didn’t get to have it after all, so I was a bit emotional because I was the oldest of my friends to have kids. I had organized a lot of showers, but unfortunately I couldn’t have my own. So I was already kind of sad about the situation. I thought, aw, it’s like you don’t really get to celebrate the baby. Then I completed my classes before the birth, they give you the whole picture and all that, but COVID changed everything. At one point, in April in Quebec, there was one weekend where the dads weren’t allowed to attend the birth. That bothered me and I had a plan B: Well, I’m going to have a home birth, I’ll have a doctor come to me, I don’t want to be alone in this. Because I had no idea what to expect. I really had no idea, it was my first time. So there were a lot of emotions and anxiety, but my doctor, because I was getting close — near the end, you see the doctor more often, particularly since I had a touch of gestational diabetes as well — she said, “No, no, the father can come in, but you’re not allowed to leave the room.” The rules were really strict. It was a shame that people weren’t allowed to come and see the baby in the hospital and all that, but there was a positive side to it as well, we got a chance to rest because it took so long. I had to be induced, so it was a long labour. While the baby slept, we slept too to recover from our sleepless night. I thought: My God, that’s one good thing about this. But it was really hard. I don’t know about other provinces, but for us, it was the number of hours you’re allowed to stay with your baby. We were discharged at 10 o’clock Monday night. I asked them, um, can I stay another night? I delivered on Sunday morning, I only had one night in the hospital. “No, no, we don’t have enough beds, we have to save some for COVID patients, so you have to leave.” So we left like really late at night. On the second night, it was like hell at home. I thought: Oh my God! I felt all alone, because my mom couldn’t come and help me and all that. It was hard at first, but after that, I had CLSC services and so on, and things went well. But, yeah, it was not easy at the end of the pregnancy.

Alex Maheux:

And Valerie, I know you have a pretty amazing story to tell about both your pregnancy and your delivery.

Valerie:

That’s true. So, for my first son, I had a C-section and for my second son, I really wanted to have a vaginal birth. The pregnancy was fairly predictable, since I knew what to expect, and my second pregnancy was a lot like my first. But as far as giving birth, that was really something new. So, I sympathize a lot with Annie that way, because I definitely didn’t know what to expect. There was a lot, a lot of anxiety, especially like in March. It was the start of the third wave, and we were starting to worry. I was also really worried that my partner wasn’t going to be able to be there for the birth. But in the end, I was impressed with how uneventful the whole thing was. Like Annie said, when you’re in active labour mode, you really don’t have the mental capacity to think about anything else. It’s only when I look back on it now that I think, wow, yeah, that was a very different experience. We weren’t allowed to leave our hospital room. The hygiene measures were really strict, everybody had to wear a mask. I had to wear a mask when I was in labour. But when you’re in the moment, you really don’t have the time to think about it too much.

Annie:

If I can add something. I had the right not to wear a mask, because masks became a thing in the spring of last year. It wasn’t a big issue yet, so in April we were okay. But we weren’t allowed to leave the room either. I know that now — I asked because of my second pregnancy — if you don’t have COVID, you can walk around the floor. We were stuck in the room, so I didn’t have any access to the bath. When I was in heavy labour, I went into the shower. My boyfriend put the cold water jet on my lower back, then as soon as the contraction was over, he closed the door because I was too cold. They gave me a ball. At least they could bring that to us. But we were locked in the room. I remember that one of the techniques we learned in class was to go walk around in the hallway, take a bath, do stuff. Then I’m like, yeah, but I can’t do anything, you know? So, it was really different, with the hygiene rules. But COVID was also new.

Alex Maheux:

And you, Olivia?

Olivia:

My experience was somewhat similar to Valerie’s. I’d also had a C-section with my first and I wanted to have a vaginal birth for my second. I was really lucky, both my pregnancies were great, I had no complications. But unfortunately, my kids didn’t want to come out. In the end, I ended up having another C-section, which was planned. So I think it was easier. But like Valerie, we couldn’t walk around, or like the other 2 you couldn’t really walk around the floor. After Fia was born, we were stuck in our room, we couldn’t go out. We wore masks most of the time. The first night, we had a double room. We and the other couple closed our curtains and took off our masks. The nurses didn’t really push us to wear them, which I found a little weird. We were alone most of the time and were told to put our masks back on.

Valerie:

I know, I had had a similar experience with the mask, Olivia. After I delivered, we were constantly forgetting to put our masks back on, then people didn’t say much. I thought it was kind of interesting too.

Alex Maheux:

Mm-hm. That is interesting. What did your partners think of the experience?

Annie:

Well, I would say that, for my partner, especially toward the end of the pregnancy, he wasn’t able to be there when I was having the final ultrasound. And again, for my second pregnancy, at the first 14-week ultrasound, they didn’t want him there. So we found that hard, we thought: we can go to Walmart together, but we can’t go to the ultrasound. We really thought that was a shame. We understood the situation in hospitals, they don’t want COVID to get in, but we found it really hard. It was hard for him, but then again, we didn’t have any other children at the time. Now we have a baby. The second time, I thought: well, he can go see the baby. It was difficult, but in this case, he could stay with me, he packed a lunch box, with plenty of stuff so he wouldn’t miss out on anything. So he was happy to have his snack. He was really funny, because sometimes he would say: ugh, I can’t wait for the second one, I’ll be able to get another snack. I said: yes, but you’ll actually be able to leave then. He said: no, no, I’ll stay. So there was a good side. Then we made a lot of videos, showing the baby to the grandparents when he was born. He was really involved in that. But I do think he found it hard during the first month, when we couldn’t have any visitors, or when we did have visitors we had to be in the window and they watched from under the balcony. But for pregnancy and the delivery, it wasn’t a problem not going out because we stayed here, just the 2 of us, and we didn’t have other children waiting for us or anything. So it wasn’t that bad.

Alex Maheux:

Valerie, what was it like for your partner?

Valerie:

I kind of agree with what Annie said. My partner didn’t really feel that there were too many sanitary measures or anything. I think the one thing I was really worried about, as I mentioned, was that he wouldn’t be able to attend the birth. About 2 weeks before I gave birth, my husband got some kind of cold, and then I really freaked out because I thought, even if it’s not COVID, if we go into the hospital and he mentions that he has symptoms, he won’t be able to go in. In the end, he got tested, the result was negative, and his symptoms improved. But it was that anticipation and anxiety of the whole thing, that’s what was so difficult.

Alex Maheux:

Olivia, what about your partner?

Olivia:

I think for him it went well, but it was . . . he couldn’t come to the ultrasounds, he never heard the baby’s heartbeat. He was a little bit lonely and so was I. It was a very lonely experience. Being pregnant during the pandemic, but being alone and not being able to bring your partner with you to your appointments.

Alex Maheux:

So for some of you, it’s been a few months. For others, it’s been almost a year since you’ve been at home with your babies. So what was it like after coming home? Were you able to find support — Olivia, you just mentioned this — with family, friends and also with the health care system?

Annie:

Well, I certainly had support, because breastfeeding was tough at first. I had help from our CLSC, I could go to a clinic, and all that. I gave birth in April, so it was springtime, and even by last June, it was easier, we could go out and see people from a distance. We could get out of isolation and see friends and family a little more at first, but it was still 2 months after he was born. But I did have support, and often it was by video. For example, I had a hard time breastfeeding and my sister helped out. I’d ask her: is this the right position for the baby? I know that other people found it to be kind of tricky as well. It isn’t the same as in real life, in person, but it still helped. But it was hard. My partner had 8 weeks of paternity leave. So he had 2 months to stay with me. I really appreciated that. He’d also been telecommuting since last March. In the year that followed, it was tough for us in confinement.

Alex Maheux:

Valerie and Olivia, how has it been with Fia and Toulouse?

Olivia:

My mom stayed with us for 10 weeks because schools in Ontario didn’t reopen after the holidays. My mom helped out with Marshall who’s doing his online kindergarten right now, my husband works from home and I got to take care of Fia. Because I had a C-section and it was still open, I really didn’t want to go out the first week anyway. Like the pregnancy, it was a very lonely experience because I couldn’t go out. When I was on maternity leave with Marshall, I took advantage of all that Toronto has to offer for women and parents with babies. We went to art galleries, I took yoga classes, swimming classes, I had lots of friends who were also on leave. But this time around, I didn’t know any women who were on leave, I couldn’t meet women in my community, in my neighbourhood for coffee. It’s really sad.

Alex Maheux:

Valerie, what about you?

Valerie:

I definitely found that time went very slowly. Like Olivia, I also had my two-year-old son at home at the same time as my newborn. That’s hard to juggle. I can honestly tell you that having a toddler at home during the pandemic was far more difficult than being pregnant and giving birth during a pandemic.

Alex Maheux:

Wow! That’s really something.

Valerie:

It’s really not easy. You know, toddlers are so demanding. And being cooped up in the house, you can’t go out. Like right now, I’m reluctant to even take him to the park. I find it really hard. Then you add the newborn and it’s really, really challenging. Like Olivia said, when I had Émile, my oldest, I took yoga classes, I did lots of exercise classes, I did baby massage classes, I had a group of mom friends that I went out with almost every day. Now we’re down to nothing. It’s really sad. It’s lonely for sure. The other side of the coin, however, is that my husband is also at home. He works from home, so in a way I don’t have to spend my days alone, but of course it gets boring.

Alex Maheux:

I can imagine. Is there anything you want the public to know about pregnancy and childbirth during a pandemic, anything you may not have mentioned yet?

Valerie:

I can start. One thing I’d really like to say, for childbirth as well as for pregnancy. The health care staff in hospitals, and the obstetricians and midwives as well, have a level of professionalism and dedication that is really second to none. It’s because of them that this experience was a little more normal, in a way. It really struck me how, in the hospital but also during appointments with the obstetrician during my pregnancy, everything just seemed normal and really routine. It’s remarkable that people working in very, very, very difficult circumstances are able to make what’s happening right now feel normal for pregnant women.

Alex Maheux:

That’s really a great message. Olivia or Annie, do you have anything to add?

Annie:

Well, it’s hard for me to compare with someone else, because it was my first. Everything you mentioned earlier, activities, I had everything planned during my pregnancy for things that I wanted to do. My cousin and my sister-in-law were giving birth at the same time as me. Sometimes we talked about ideas for things we’d do. But we couldn’t do anything. We still had to adapt to the situation, we had no choice, and I don’t feel that my baby is unhappy because for one year he had to miss out on things he doesn’t even understand. Missing out on Santa Claus, he doesn’t know what that means. But not having a first birthday party, that was hard for us. I don’t need to dwell on it, but I thought it was hard, at the end of April, not having a party with everyone. I know I’ll do it this summer. There are things I couldn’t do and it hurt me a lot. But I thought: it could be worse. My partner was at home, I wasn’t alone. He could enjoy seeing his son for a year, something he wouldn’t have been able to do if he’d worked in Montréal. I told myself: my son has been able to spend a lot of time with his father, meals, breaks, things like that. It’s definitely been a tough year. I can’t wait to really get back to normal, and hopefully, for my second pregnancy, my second maternity leave, it’ll be interesting to see how it’s different. I still had a beautiful healthy baby, so I can’t complain too much.

Alex Maheux:

So obviously, the pandemic was a big part of your birth stories. What are your hopes for your children in the future?

Annie:

I think he’ll remember, because all the photos, for a year, showed everyone wearing masks. Everybody had masks in the pictures in his photo album. He’ll know how he was born, but I hope that it’ll get better and we’ll be able to get back to our normal lives, but we all know it won’t be quite the same, because some things have changed, and it’s going to be different. I can’t wait for him to be able to play with his cousins, to see his aunts and uncles.

Alex Maheux:

Mm-hm. I’m looking forward to that too for you. Olivia, what about you?

Olivia:

Well, like all parents, I hope my kids find their happiness and can be happy with their lives. I hope my kids will learn how strong their parents were during this time. But like everyone else, we’re really looking forward, over time, to getting back to something a bit more normal.

Alex Maheux:

Valerie, what about you?

Valerie:

I really want him to get to know the people he hasn’t been able to spend much time with this year, like my brother, for example. But I also really hope he develops some resilience, because if this year has taught me anything, it’s how important it is to be resilient, to be able to adapt to difficult situations. If I wanted to teach him anything, I think that would be it. Being adaptable, being flexible, is important because you just never know what’s going to happen.

Alex Maheux:

Absolutely. Well, thanks again to all 3 of you for being here today. Valerie, Olivia and Annie, thanks for your bravery, for sharing your stories. I wish you all the best with your little ones.

Thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed this episode. Join us again soon as we continue to present interesting perspectives and dive into health-related topics that interest you. To learn more about CIHI, visit our website at cihi.ca. If you enjoyed our discussion today, subscribe to our podcast, leave us a comment and follow us on social media.

This episode was produced by Jonathan Kuehlein, with assistance from Amie Chant, Marisa Duncan, Shraddha Sankhe and Ramon Syyap. I’m Alex Maheux. Thank you for listening to the Canadian Health Information Podcast. Until next time!

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