Getting Covid When Pregnant
Well that was a rough few weeks!
On the 15th of March, Adam (youngest) came home from creche with a very tiny cough but an upset stomach. Only for the cough that I actually tested him for Covid and low and behold there it was, positive! Needless to say, I caught it pretty quickly. I presented positive the following day. I was absolutely fine and thought it was just a mild dose. By the 17th of March, which was Paddy’s Day, I thought best to double check and get a PCR up at my local test centre. Of course all was positive.
Still no sign of Covid with Eoin and James (eldest).
By the 18th I was hit by a tonne of bricks. It’s a sickness that’s really hard to explain. I didn’t get the flu. I had a head cold with sinus infection and cough but my entire body drained of all energy and what can only be described as brain fog washed over me.
As it was Paddy’s week/ weekend, I couldn’t get through to the Covid helpline in the Rotunda for a few days. The numbers shot up so the system just had so many of us calling in. When you get Covid, you have to call your maternity hospital to report it and they’ll do a phone assessment.
While I was waiting to get through, my head went in to overdrive thinking of all the terrible things that could be going on with me and the baby.
I post that I had Covid on my Instagram stories and so many of you were so good coming through with the tips but I have to admit, I got so freaked out as there were a few who were in bits plus I had a many telling me that you have to get to hospital straight away as I need to get the blood thinning injections. Of course I was then double paranoid as every glitch in my leg or chest I thought was a clot!
Luckily I managed to get through to the covid helpline the next day and as I don’t have any history of clotting and given that I was only 14 weeks, the Rotunda don’t give the precautionary blood thinner injections. That was for my case specifically and my understanding is that a case by case basis is reviewed but they don’t give everyone injections as precautions. Plus, they will book you in for a reassurance scan after your 7 days have passed. One thing the midwife told me was with this B-variant is that while mum is knocked for six, baby is blissfully unaware.
You are so limited on what you can take so paracetamol and plenty of water and rest are the main concoctions to getting through Covid.
By day 10 I started to feel a little bit more human and at that stage the whole house had it. I still had the head cold and energy low but every day tiny bits of energy started to reappear.
Im now a month and a half over it and I’m still a little tired. Trimester two should see some lift in energy but mine is very slow to appear. In saying that, I definitely wasn’t eating as well as I could have but when I’m low I go straight for easy meals, sugar and crap basically. I was eating well at my 3 meals a day but shovelling in whatever I could to keep my energy up to be able to keep going.
I can say now by week 20 I’m definitely coming out the other side albeit still a bit tired. Getting a break away in the sun made a huge difference too. The vit D gave me the boost I needed. In addition, I have been taking Proceive Trimester Two supplements. This was gifted to me. You take 2 in the morning and you can also take an additional x2 Omega 3 supplements with it. I found that has helped a lot.
The main thing for me was accepting that it would take time to recover and be patient!
In summary this is what I learnt that you should do when you get that positive test:
1. Call your maternity hospital – you have to log your case and also need to be given your specific next steps
2. Only take your hospitals advice – everyone is coming with different circumstances so what works for one may not be right for another.
3. You can take paracetamol – that’s pretty much it
4. Lots of rest & sleep
5. A good pregnancy supplement through it & after it
6. Patience…..can’t say I have it myself but you have no other choice.
I really hope that helps you. I am not an expert at all and your doctor, consultant or midwife are really the best people to ask.
