Unfortunately my little family unit of 4 were unlucky to pick up Covid when away recently. Symptoms started with my husband but the rest of us had symptoms 1 day later. The youngest (almost 2) was definitely the worst as his temperatures were really high for his age and had us very worried.
I am fully vaccinated and thankfully had mild symptoms, being primarily a bad cold, sore throat and headache. Nothing I would have commented on as more than a bad headcold on any of my previous pregnancies. But there are other risks in pregnancy that I have been worried about.
When I found out about my diagnosis, I rang the hospital 3 times, talking to different people each time to ensure there is nothing I needed to be concerned about. No additional checks I needed. I was worried as I was well overdue a check also given the timing of our holiday and then needing to isolate while tests came through. I was told each time I just had to wait until isolation was over then fall into routine checks.
Unfortunately, that advice was incorrect and not in line with HSE best practice guidance for anyone with covid in pregnancy over 24 weeks gestation. I had a friend who was diagnosed a week later and had a very different treatment (always worrying when there is inconsistency). So I got the help of my amazing sister to help me understand the correct guidance and what treatment I should be on.
For anyone in this position, current guidelines in Ireland from HSE for all hospitals is the following:
https://rcpi-live-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com › …PDF
Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists – Amazon AWS
This resulted in another 3 calls talking to different people to try and get the right treatment and checks and an A&E visit to ensure everything was OK ahead of the long weekend (as I wasn’t happy overall in the delay in the treatment). For anyone in the same situation, HSE guidance issued from May 2021 recommends the following actions post covid diagnosis in pregnancy over 24 weeks gestation:
– fetal check (heartbeat, CTG and scan) on diagnosis
– to go on a course of blood thinners for 4 weeks to negate any heightened risk of blood clots from the virus
– extra scan at 4 weeks post diagnosis (some hospitals are delaying the initial scan until after the isolation period)
It has been a stressful few days trying to get on the right treatment. All I can say is don’t be afraid to advocate for your rights and your baby’s rights.
While I did get covid post vaccination, I definitely believe the vaccine lessoned my illness considerably and would get vaccinated again in a heartbeat. If you are considering vaccination, don’t be afraid to go to your GP and ask all the questions you need to understand the medical advice yourself.
MY ADVENTURE INTO THE WORLD OF MOTHERHOOD 