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What To Expect When Expecting In A Pandemic

A patient room is seen at a temporary field hospital featuring 437 beds for patients suffering from coronavirus.
A patient room is seen at a temporary field hospital featuring 437 beds for patients suffering from coronavirus.

Pregnancy and giving birth are already some of life’s more stressful events. But the prospect of having to go to a hospital and bring a child into the world during the pandemic is now even more daunting.

Going to a hospital right now is scary. The possibility of being infected with COVID-19 while carrying is scary. And the prospect of returning home to isolate as a new parent can be overwhelming.

How can expectant parents stay safe while preparing to give birth? How can parents be supported in the age of social distancing once they go home with their newborns?

And what does the pandemic mean for the maternal health of black women who are two to three times more likely to die from causes related to pregnancy than white women, regardless of income or education?

Copyright 2020 WAMU 88.5

Kaity Kline
Kaity Kline is an Assistant Producer at Morning Edition and Up First. She started at NPR in 2019 as a Here & Now intern and has worked at nearly every NPR news magazine show since.