'It's been really scary': Expectant mothers prepare for childbirth as coronavirus forces hospitals to make changes
Expectant mothers are preparing for changes in childbirth as hospitals restrict who can visit during their stay.
Hannah Miller is expecting her second son on May 2.
鈥淚 am 35 weeks, so next week will be the beginning of nine months,鈥� Miller said.
This birth will be different from her first, and Miller is already feeling it.
"Especially with a pandemic, it's been really scary for the most part,鈥� Miller said.
Miller said stores are out of diapers and formula, but she's trying not to make many trips.
"I don鈥檛 physically go into stores because I鈥檓 afraid what鈥檚 going to happen to my baby if I get sick," she said.
Then there's the hospital visit.
Right now, she鈥檚 not allowed to have anyone with her at her appointments. During her birth, at Immanuel Medical Center in Omaha, only one person will be allowed in the hospital during and after the birth. That means Miller鈥檚 first-born child and her family won鈥檛 get to meet the baby for several days.
Miller is worried about the surge in COVID-19 positive patients, too.
"What if they run out of beds? What am I supposed to do?" Miller said.
Nebraska Medicine said it's preparing for that surge by moving the Bellevue Medical Center's labor and delivery unit patients to their Omaha campus. Beginning Saturday, all scheduled and unscheduled births will be moved to the University Tower.
鈥淲e know that there's a possibility that we will need to use that 11-bed unit for overflow (COVID-19) patients," said Sue Nuss, chief nursing officer and vice president of operations for Bellevue Medical Center.
It also allows the system to protect specialized staff.
"We're realizing that we could potentially have our labor and delivery staff get sick as well, and so combining the two units allows us to combine the staff so we can have more depth in the charts,鈥� Nuss said.
Staff is also doing drills in case a pregnant mom shows symptoms, including how to get the person into the hospital and into an isolation room.
Nuss said the pandemic pushed their team to plan for the worst.
"I've been a nurse for 37 years," she said. "I hope I don鈥檛 ever, ever, ever have to go through this again,"
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