My COVID story: Here is my experience of isolating with my newborn while being COVID positive

Dr. Harshada Iyer was looking forward to celebrating her newborn's 6th month birthday when she and her husband both tested COVID positive. Her husband had to isolate separately while she quarantined with her little one. Here she shares a checklist for new parents who get tested with the dreaded virus.
Apart from being a COVID-19 survivor, I am also a Homeopathic doctor and mother to a lovely 7 month old baby girl (born during the pandemic). Here I am sharing in brief about our experience with COVID-19 and a general checklist for parents of young children who are battling through the infection or seek information so as to stay prepared in case they find themselves in a situation like ours.

I wish this checklist reaches as many people as possible so as to give them hope and information about how to take care of a baby in case they are infected with the novel Coronavirus. As of now there are very few pediatric cases observed for COVID-19 and there is little information available for the public on this topic. Besides, there is plenty of misinformation circulating hence I decided to write this article.
My husband: I am desperate to hold our baby
Me: I am terrified to have my baby cling on to me all day
My husband: I wish I could pacify her
Me: I wish someone else would hold and cuddle her the way I do
We both: Our baby turned 6 months old today, celebrations aside, we could not even plant kisses on those sweet cheeks on this special day.

The unfortunate encounter with COVID-19 as parents is a greater stress adding to the disease itself. While my husband was supposed to stay away from our baby, I had to be with her throughout the course of my illness.

COVID-19 seems like a distant threat, scary but only heard of till it knocks your door. Your world turns upside down and you hope to wake up from this nightmare to know that it was not true. However, should this happen, make sure COVID does not knock you down.

Here is a checklist for COVID positive parents who are under home isolation/quarantined asymptomatic.

1. Follow your child’s pediatrician’s advice thoroughly
2. If you are breastfeeding your baby, continue doing so.
3. Discuss the safety of the medicines prescribed to you (mother) for the treatment of COVID-19 infection during breastfeeding. Keep your child’s pediatrician informed about the same.
4. Your near and dear ones concerned about your baby may suggest you keep your baby away from you, however, try not separate your baby from yourself. As per WHO and UNICEF, there are numerous benefits of breastfeeding especially to combat the pandemic and the trauma of sudden separation from mother can affect the baby adversely. Hence, unless advised by the doctor, do not separate the baby from yourself. Nevertheless, maintain all safety and hygiene measures while handling the baby, which include, wearing a mask, frequently washing hands and using a sanitizer whenever needed. Choose to use a soap to wash hands instead of a sanitizer whenever possible.
5. Discuss with your child’s pediatrician on giving Vitamin D and C supplements to the baby.
6. As per observations, children affected with COVID-19 are found to be mostly asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. This surely gives hope that your baby will fight it well, however, you still have to remain alert all the time. Be on the watch for fever, cough, runny or blocked nose, sneezing and report to the pediatrician accordingly. Watch for change in weight, mood, feeding pattern, stools and urine too. Any change to the routine should be reported to the doctor. Do everything you can to avoid getting infected with COVID-19, however, if you do get infected, remember that this is the time for you to demonstrate your strengths and conquer over the disease. Listen and trust your doctor always.

(Image used for representational purposes only)

Did you fight COVID-19? We want to hear all about it. ETimes Lifestyle is calling all the survivors of COVID to share their stories of survival and hope.

Write to us at toi.health1@gmail.com with 'My COVID story' in the subject line.

We will publish your experience.