Pregnant and Social Distancing? You’re Not Alone (Really!)

A lot of the things you encounter during your pregnancy are going to be unexpected. But the current imperative for social distancing (and sometimes self-isolation means that even if this isn’t your first, it’s not going to feel like your previous pregnancies.

And it’s not going to be easy.

But, even while you be by yourself, you’re not the only one going through this! Here are some tips to give you guidance into how to spend your pregnancy while social distancing.

• Ready Your Home for Baby

If you not working outside the house, now is a great time to do all those million little things needed to ready your home for its newest resident! If you’re early in your pregnancy, start thinking about things you’ll need later on, and start ordering what you can. Deliveries will probably have a delay.

If you’re later on in your pregnancy and have the nursery set up and stocked with baby essentials, think about preparing and freezing easy meals for yourself. 

• Focus on Yourself!

Keeping yourself active is important for your health and your baby. There are tons of online resources for pregnancy yoga or pilates. If you have friends from mommy-to-be classes that you’ve already connected with, you can workout together in Zoom to keep yourself on top of exercise, and to stay social during social distancing.

You can also take some time to pamper yourself and do the fun thing you may have been too busy to do before, like taking pregnancy pics!

• Connect with Others

Phone and video calls are important for both you and your extended family members. It’s important to check-in, but also to feel like you’re not totally alone. It doesn’t need to be all pregnancy or health talk though. You can both hit ‘play’ on Netflix at the same time while on Skype and chat away through your favorite Gilmore Girls episodes!

If you have a partner that you’re self-isolating with, the dual life upheaval of isolation and pregnancy might be putting new stress on the relationship. It can be tricky to give each other enough space, but it is just as important as making sure that lines of communication about how you’re feeling, good and bad, are still open. 

• Get Any Fresh Air You Can

Unfortunately, not everyone has a yard they can enjoy while social distancing. And, depending on where you live, you may have a limited ability to use parks or go on walks.

Try your best to get what fresh air you can through balconies or windows—as the weather gets warmer, it can be nice to close your eyes and do meditative breathing exercises while letting the sunshine on your face!

• Find Out if Your Birth Plan Needs an Update

This depends a lot on where you live, and what your original birth plan was. Speak with your OB/GYN and/or midwife about updating your birth plan as developments happen. This includes your post-natal care plans!