When I first heard about the coronavirus outbreak in China, I thought “ahhh it will never reach the UK!” but how wrong was I.

I was 8 months pregnant and had just left on maternity leave, and if you told me a few weeks ago that I would be giving birth to my second child during a worldwide pandemic, I would not have believed you.

The downward spiral started for me when the government announced that pregnant women were now classed as “vulnerable”. A mix of emotions came across me, not only was i scared for myself and my family, but I was also scared of the unknown. To top it off I now had to attend all appointments alone, which was extremely upsetting for my husband as he had previously attended all my other appointments and scans.

Shortly after we entered a national lockdown. My Husband was still working, I could not see any family and I was heavily pregnant stuck at home with a 2-year-old alone and we were not leaving the house because

I was so scared. The news was filled with stories of people stockpiling nappies and formula with no considerations for others. Luckily, we had a small supply which we had bought over the months.

My due date was getting closer. The news was getting worse and the cases were rising. Then the bombshell was announced! I was only allowed one birth partner and no visitors were allowed in the hospital. For some this would not be a problem, but I loved having my mum with me when I gave birth to my first and was wishing she would be allowed to be there with my second but unfortunately not.

Keep your eye’s peeled for our lockdown birth blog coming next Thursday!

For support and advice please see the below links. There are also some fantastic Facebook groups for expectant mothers.

MUMS NET - https://www.mumsnet.com/
NCT - https://www.nct.org.uk/
MIND - https://www.mind.org.uk