I gave birth in October of 2020, and I tested postive for Covid while in labor. ‘
I am not a medical professional. This story is intended for entertainment purposes only. Please discuss any concerns you have with a trusted health professional.
I wanted to share the story for other moms who may have the same experience so you do not feel alone.
Getting Tested
I was 35 weeks pregnant in September 2020, and I started to feel sick. I knew I needed to get tested for Sars CoV 2, Covid. My mom and sister were helping me with childcare while I attended all my doctors appointments for my 4th baby. I needed to get tested for their sake.
I had lots of extra appointments because I had been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes for the first time.
A local urgent care was doing drive thru tests, so I drove thru. I had all 3 of my other kids, 5 and under. They started by taking my blood and testing for antibodies.
I waited while they ran the test, which was negative. They did the nose swab and told me I would receive results in 2 or 3 days.
They ominously told me that if it was negative, it would be sooner. Way to mess with my mind. Every hour that passed I felt the situation get more and more dire.
I was tested on a Wednesday, on Sunday morning the Health Department called me to tell me I had tested positive.
I burst into tears. I was hysterical.
I felt shame, guilt, fear and frustration. I ran through all the people I had seen. We were being careful:
Grocery Pickup
Outdoor Socializing Only
Online Church Services
Masks in Public
We still do not know where we got it.
I started texting everyone I had been in contact with for the past 2 weeks. It was a grand total of 3 texts to friends and then I told my family.
I called a dear friend who lives out of state and I cried and cried and told her my fears. I just wanted the baby to be ok.
No one could tell us anything about how it might affect the baby.
Third Trimester Covid Symptoms
How did I feel? I know that Gestational Diabetes contributed to my symptoms. The biggest symptom I remember is the unquenchable thirst. All I was taking in was water and soups and I was so thirsty. The dehydration caused persistent contractions.
These are all the symptoms I experienced.
Sore Throat
This was my very first symptom.
Eleven Full Days of Fever
The fever never spiked over 101 for me, but I did not drop below 99 for ELEVEN DAYS. This is by far the longest I have ever been sick.
Night sweats
Every night I would pile on blankets when I laid down to sleep, I was FREEZING. Without fail, every night I would wake up drenched in sweat. I know that this contributed to the dehydration, which was the worst symptom I experienced.
Unimaginable Dehydration
I have mentioned this plenty by now, but guys, it was AWFUL. I could never quench my thirst. I could not drink gatorade because of blood sugar issues.
I drank water, tea and lots and lots of broth.
When I ended up in the ER, they were unable to take my blood because I was so dehydrated.
Contractions
The dehydration led to contractions that were very painful, but did not progress labor. I had prodromal labor in a previous pregnancy and this was very much the same.
The contractions would keep me up most of the night and I used warm baths and a heating pad to cope with the pain. I tried to be careful to not raise my temperature too much, which can be bad for the baby.
Extended Loss of Taste and Smell
I had the classic loss of taste and smell and that is when I knew it was Covid, but it took me over 6 weeks to regain full taste and smell.
When my senses first returned I had new aversions. I could not eat boiled eggs anymore because my smell had changed.
This did subside and I am back to what is normal for me.
High Fasting Numbers
I was tracking my blood sugar numbers and they were higher when I was sick. I have been told that the fever is what caused my blood sugars to be high.
Exhaustion
It is normal to be very tired during the third trimester, but I could not stay awake. Every time I sat down, I would fall asleep.
My husband, who also had symptoms, slept for 7 days. We all just layed in the living room watching Sesame Street. The kids did so well.
My young children also tested positive, so we were all pretty sick.
How My Doctors Responded
OBGYN
When I tested positive I called the OBGYN office and they cancelled all my appointments and told me I could come back in a month.
They could not help. I was so scared. I do not know what I expected, but I did not expect to feel so alone. I was just to stay home and get better.
They did not reach out during my isolation, they did not offer any information or instructions.
I got a pulse oximeter from the drugstore and knew I could go to the ER if I really needed to, and I did end up there.
The High Risk OBGYN
I was also visiting a high risk doctor to monitor the baby’s growth because I had been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes.
I called them and the response was the same, they cancelled all my appointments and told me to come back in 6 weeks.
I cried and asked what they knew about how this could affect my baby. No one knew anything.
Facebook Groups
I was in several pregnancy Facebook groups, and I saw women talking about how their offices were calling daily to check in.
I know other offices have policies in place to support women with Covid and I hope no one has to go through what I did.
The hardest part of this was the lack of support. We were cut off and in the dark.
Lots of tears.
Released from Isolation
I was allowed back to my OBs office after the health department released me from quarantine.
I had to be symptom free (except for taste and smell) for 24-48 hours.
So just like that, it was over. I was allowed out and about. It was like landing on Mars. I did not know how to interact with anyone. My symptoms lasted a total of 11 days.
I was reassured when I saw my OB, he assured me everything would be fine and that they had other patients who had tested positive.
Testing Positive in Labor
On a Monday morning I woke up in labor. I started making cookies, a labor tradition of mine. I called my husband to come home from work, I called my amazing babysitter who lives right around the corner.
I was not thinking about Covid. It had been 4 weeks since I tested positive and more than 2 weeks free of symptoms. I was normal again.
My husband and I arrived at the hospital at around 7 am and my contractions had slowed down significantly. We were told to walk the halls for an hour and see if we could get labor to progress. Remember that, I walked the halls for an hour.
When my labor failed to progress we were released, I called the chiropractor I had been seeing and was able to get a quick adjustment to encourage labor.
We got spicy food, eggplant parmesan pizza, did a Miles Circut and got some Rose Oil from a very generous friend.
By midnight, I was in real labor.
Back to the hospital, where I was 5cm and in active labor.
I was thrilled when they said I could be admitted.
When they brought me to my room, they explained that I would be in the negative pressure isolation room, “because of my history.”
I was told that one of the doctors had requested I be tested for Covid and I consented.
I asked for an epidural and was given fluids.
I was told that my test came back positive.
My incredible nurse treated me very kindly, but had to double mask, hair cover, apron, face shield. She assured me that I did not have to wear my mask while in labor, but I was comfortable with it on.
The anesthesiologist finally arrived and he looked like this. I cried.
I felt so confused and frustrated. Everything I had read said that I was in the clear! Why was I being treated like a liability!? I had followed all advice I had been given and after many many conversations with the Health Department I knew that I was no longer contagious.
Once I was comfortable with the epidural I was left to labor.
There was no nurse call button in my room. They were trying to find one, but until then I kept sending my husband out to get help.
Later I was checked and while the nurse was checking my cervix, my water broke. She reached for her phone to call the doctor and my baby was born! He was under 6 pounds, my smallest baby by far!
He was amazing and I was so happy to have him in my arms. They started the process of checking his blood sugars, standard for babies of moms with blood sugar issues.
After he was born my doctor, who had delivered 3 of my babies, came in to deliver the placenta and evaluate the need for stitches and evaluate blood loss. I have histories with both.
It was hard for me that she was in and out of my room so quickly. I had so much to say. I was a liability, no one could be too close to me because of my positive test.
About an hour after he was born I got a call from the hospital pediatrician who gave me these instructions:
Always wear a mask when you are holding your baby
Keep the baby more than 6 feet away from you whenever possible
Wash hands before every time you hold the baby
Wash hands every time you eat or drink
I was speechless. Keep my baby 6 feet away from me?! I had heard stories of mothers being completely separated from their babies in the early days of Covid, but had read the hospital policies and that was not the process here.
This was a big blow. I kept wearing my mask every time I nursed and they told me they would be doing a Covid test on my baby.
Things started to unravel.
My husband was told that he could not leave the room, which makes sense if they are treating us as contagious, but felt embarrassing because they did not tell us this for the first 24 hours we were there. He had been going to get food for himself.
They started giving us food on paper plates with disposable forks. Everything took so long because of all the PPE required to enter our room.
My doctor never came back to check on me.
I saw lots of really lovely nurses. These women made it bearable.
The hospital pediatrician came in to talk to me, he could not tell me what to expect, but that the baby’s test had come back negative. He stood very far away from us, almost in the doorway.
We were finally released.
They rolled me down the hall with someone walking ahead of us closing all the doors, so I couldn’t infect anyone.
They pushed me into an elevator clearly labeled for “Dirty Patients” they wheeled me through the ER because I was a dirty patient. People even stopped and asked if they were regularly discharging maternity patients through the ER, and the woman pushing my wheelchair said, “just this one.”
I cried the whole way home.
I had given birth at this hospital twice before and I was really looking forward to seeing some of my favorite nurses and doctors.
Was I crazy, did I miss something?
Re Testing Guidelines
When I calmed down I found this article from the World Health Organization, which states:
“With widespread community transmission, these initial criteria for SARS-CoV-2 posed several challenges:
- Long periods of isolation for individuals with prolonged viral RNA detection after resolution of symptoms, affecting individual well-being, society ,and access to healthcare.13
- Insufficient testing capacity to comply with initial discharge criteria in many parts of the world.
- Prolonged viral shedding around the limit of detection, having negative results followed by positive results, which unnecessarily challenges trust in the laboratory system.”
This sure rings true for me! I felt like I could not trust lab results, I could not afford multiple tests and I could not seek medical guidance!
I should not have been retested. These guidelines were in place at the time I gave birth. According to everything we know, I was not contagious at the time. The precautions used at my birth were unnecessary.
My baby would go on to be tested 3 more times for Covid and the results would be negative every time.
I want to be clear, I received good care, I have excellent access to a good clean hospital and I am very grateful.
I simply want to share the impact of Covid on my birth experience.
Advice for Other Moms Who Might Test Positive
If you think you might test positive for Covid while in labor I have one piece of advice.
Have an advocate.
I was busy birthing a baby. I could not think or act on my own behalf. I could not even google things. My brain was just not ready.
I felt like I could not ask anyone for anything because just my existence was hard on everyone.
I really needed someone to speak for me.
If your partner is that kind of person, then you are covered. My husband is VERY uncomfortable in hospitals and was not up to this task.
Many hospitals have patient advocates, and I wonder if they could have helped me.
My OB and I go way back, but their office is very busy. I wish she had spoken up for me, but I am sure she was concerned for her other patients and wanted to protect them. I respect that.
We know more every day about Covid and we knew a lot less when I gave birth. I am very glad the hospital was taking precautions to keep the other patients safe, but I don’t think I needed to see that Dirty Patients sign.
Ask the hospital what will happen if you test positive.
I am a rule follower, but I did not know the rules so I was stressed.
Get as many particulars as possible, this will really help you be more prepared and comfortable. It can also make you feel more safe, because you will know what to expect.
If I had known what precautions would be taken if I had tested positive, then I would have packed enough food for my husband. I would have packed lots of things.
It was hard for nurses to come into my room because of the extensive PPE required. I wish I had packed my heating pad, instant ice packs, more snacks and drinks. Things the hospital usually provides, but were just not as accessible to me.
What Now
Testing positive for Covid impacted my birth experience, but not the health of myself or my baby.
All of the impacts of testing positive during labor were emotional for me.
I wanted to share my story as a resource for other moms who are searching for information about what might happen if they test positive while in labor.
This is not a complaint against the hospital where I delivered, the doctors or nurses who participated in my care or our government’s response to Covid.
This is just my story.
Any other mamas who have been there?
