I started a draft of this post a few weeks ago, and at the time, I was disappointed by the lack of resources and stories I was able to find about navigating a pregnancy in the time of the coronavirus.

That’s changed drastically in the last week and seems to be changing daily, in large part because of the number of media stories that have been published and produced. As a journalism school graduate, I’m so proud and thankful for media sharing these stories at such a critical time. These stories, for me, are beams of light during an otherwise dark time (and should serve as a reminder to us all to support a news organization(s) with a subscription!).

It’s been particularly great to read stories written by women who are pregnant themselves. Their perspectives bring a human connection in a time of isolation.

So, down to it. I hope to continue publishing additional posts as more resources and stories become available and thought it made sense for this post to serve as a catch-all for what I’ve been reading thus far. I’ve broken this out into three sections: Science/Data-Based Resources; News Stories (more fact and research-based with recent developments); and First-Person Narratives (stories written by pregnant women that I’ve simply found compelling).

Science/Data-Based Resources

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — I haven’t found this particularly helpful, but what’s here is cut and dry. There does seem to be a lag in updates.
• Emily Oster’s Parent Data — Oster is an economist and author (Expecting Better and Cribsheet); she’s providing some updates on pregnancy and the coronavirus in her email newsletters, cited with data. She’s also publishing some stories (see below).
• Evidence Based Birth — this site, which was already a favorite of mine before the pandemic, has an entire page set a side for updates related to COVID-19. This includes recent studies and research updates, which is nice to have all in one place.

News Stories

• BuzzFeed News — I’m Pregnant And Worried About The Coronavirus. Here Are The Expert Answers To My FAQs
• CNN Health — Pregnant during a pandemic: Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s coronavirus podcast for March 30
• The New York Times — Should You Have a Home Birth Because of Coronavirus?
• NPR, Pregnant And Worried About Coronavirus? How To Stay Safe And Make A Game Plan
• Slate, For Pregnant Women Who Are Scared of Hospitals Right Now, Is Switching to Home Birth Better? (written by the aforementioned Emily Oster)
• Wall Street Journal — Coronavirus Is Forcing Pregnant Women to Make Tough Choices

First Person Narratives

• The Boston Globe, I’m Pregnant During the Coronavirus Pandemic, and I’m Terrified by Anica Butler
• The Cut, Pregnant in a Pandemic by Irin Carmon — “I can’t know what is to come, or control it, and nothing tells me it’s bigger than my own choices than what we’re living through now. To try to be prepared without being able to make plans. To have the fate of all of our bodies tied up together, our literal lives depending on each other’s health and sickness. As for the being that is most depending on me, we’re both sheltering inside for now, and all I can really do is try to make the vehicle of her isolation a little more hospitable.”
• Health.com, I’m Pregnant in a Coronavirus Containment Zone And Here’s What My Life is Like by Liz Teich
• The New York Times, Opinion: I Did Not Plan to Be Pregnant in a Pandemic by Alexandra March — Now I realize that not only can I not prepare for her birth in a pandemic, but it’s also likely that a lot of her life will be beyond my protection. My spreadsheets will be useless. I’m forced to accept that I can’t plan for everything; I don’t have any choice but to be agile — no one knows what the world will look like in three months.

That’s all for now. Will share more as I read and follow along.

Be well,

J