This can be a scary time for new or prospective parents, so here are some resources for you.
The Parentcraft courses are still being held, but always check their facebook page to see if they are still on. You are asked to stay away if you feel sick in any way. The hospital tour for pregnant mothers-to-be is not being held. If you have a question about pregnancy or birth, one place where you can ask for advice is by contacting Parentcraft on 2545 5123, 2545 5124 or 2145 5127. At the moment their lines are being inundated with calls, and bear in mind that after office hours, the midwives are usually giving lectures. If you can’t get through, you can leave a voice message on 2545 5124 (don’t forget to say your phone number) or email parentcraft@gov.mt
Well Baby appointments at the polyclinics are being cancelled, but immunisation appointments are going ahead – for further enquiries, please call 2468 0222 or 21 231 231. You will receive a letter at home after you give birth, telling you when your baby’s 6-week immunisation appointment is, so there is no need to phone – but if you do, be ready to quote the C-number (like an identification number) that the baby is assigned at hospital.
Well Woman appointments, include gynae and post-natal (after the birth) appointments, have all be cancelled, except for ante-natal (before the birth) appointments. For further inquiries please call 21 321 321.
Staqsi Lill-Majjistra (Ask The Midwife) is a new facebook group set up by a Maltese midwife. The rules of the group are that ONLY midwives are allowed to answer questions, so you can be sure that you are getting sound advice. This is a good place to ask questions about pregnancy and birth, particularly birth at Mater Dei Hospital. The group is mostly in Maltese, but you are welcome to ask questions in English too, and will be answered in English.
A gynaecologist at Willingness in Malta has prepared a list of frequently asked questions for pregnant women in Malta regarding coronavirus, specifically about pregnancy and birth.
Early Pregnancy
Unfortunately there’s no information yet about how the virus can affect unborn babies if the mother gets sick with coronavirus early in the pregnancy. However it may reassure you to know that unlike the Zika virus, which passes into amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood, in the case of coronavirus, it has not been found in the amniotic fluid and umbilical cord blood of babies who were recently born to infected mothers.
Please do raise your concerns with your gynaecologist, and follow any advice they give you.
Late Pregnancy
So far, babies born to mothers who caught coronavirus in late pregnancy have all, or almost all, been born without having contracted the virus from within the womb, and no adverse effects on the babies have been noted. It seems that the babies only become vulnerable to coronavirus after they have been born, at which point they can catch it by the usual means of transmission (the coughing, sneezing or touching by infected people).
Although there have been many, many thousands of cases of coronavirus world wide, and over 6,000 deaths, so far none of the deaths have been children under 10 years old. We don’t know exactly why that is, but it’s reassuring for parents! Even newborn babies have recovered well from coronavirus. So although you should still take precautions to avoid your baby catching it, so far the indications are that your baby would recover just fine from it.
Birth
Mater Dei Hospital has changed some of its policies to reflect the current situation with coronavirus, and one of them is that visiting hours have been cancelled for the wards with newborn babies – only the mother’s partner is allowed to be on the ward with the mother and baby (except from 7am to 10am). This change may be upsetting as your close relatives will need to wait until you are discharged to see the baby, but there is wifi and you will be able to video call if you want to.
The advice from Mater Dei is to go in if your waters break, if you have pain that doesn’t go away, or if you have contractions every 5 minutes. If so, you can first phone the Labour Ward on 2545 5170 or 2545 5180.
Think about how you want to manage visitors after you return home – many Maltese families have the custom of visiting the new baby within a day or two of birth, or a day or two of the mother and baby returning home, however you may want to limit visiting due to the risk of coronavirus infection at the moment. If so, be very clear with both sides of the family in advance, and it may help if you offer video calls instead.
Breastfeeding
So far, the advice around breastfeeding and coronavirus is that you should still continue to breastfeed if you are infected, as the benefits to the baby that come from your breastmilk outweigh the risks of infection (especially since so far, it seems that babies recover well from coronavirus).
- Breastfeeding helps to protect babies from illnesses, because the mother’s antibodies pass from the mother to the baby.
- If you get sick from coronavirus, you are encouraged to wash your hands frequently, wear a mask, and continue breastfeeding. The baby will already have been exposed through you or other family members by the time you realise that you’re sick, in which case the best thing for the baby is to receive your antibodies through your milk.
- If you get so sick from coronavirus that you need to be hospitalised, the advice from La Leche League is to take the baby with you and keep on breastfeeding.
- If your medical team decides that it is medically necessary that you stop breastfeeding, then you are encouraged express your milk by hand or by pump so that it can still be given to your baby, which will help your baby to fight the infection.
La Leche League International promotes and supports breastfeeding. They’ve set up a web page with advice and resources about breastfeeding and coronavirus.
Breastfeeding Matters is a facebook group run by a certified breastfeeding counsellor. You can post in the group to receive advice about breastfeeding, or you can visit the Parental Thriving website to set up a private consultation (against payment) or download a free guide to the basics of breastfeeding.