Expecting a baby during a global pandemic

When the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak in Singapore, I was already working from home. The pregnancy was very challenging right from the start and as it progressed, I was found to have placenta previa, which meant I had to reduce walking and lifting heavy objects, amongst other things. Although I was not officially put on bedrest, the best option was to work from home. I was the first person in the SEC Management team to start this arrangement and it was not a difficult transition from office to home. All the support that I needed to do my work was readily available and things were quickly moving from paper to digital.

As Singapore went into the Circuit Breaker phase in April, that was when things significantly changed. Schools and non-essential business premises were closed and that meant having my 2-year-old (feisty) son and my husband at home - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It was far from normal. Working from home was challenging at this point of time as I was at the end of my second trimester and that meant throbbing headaches, a lot of discomfort sitting for long hours, and very little patience. I had to ensure my son was occupied while I had online meetings and had to move away from my husband as he loudly conducted his online personal training sessions with his clients. There wasn’t any room for ‘personal space’ and that to me was the most challenging.

Hearing the news about the pandemic in Singapore and overseas almost every day was heartbreaking. I occupied myself with movies on Netflix and travelling shows on YouTube during my free time. At this point of time, mental well-being was very important.

Eventually, I had to move in with my parents as my pregnancy progressed into the final trimester as it was safer to have people around me. My son returned to full day childcare and my husband was able to return to work. I started my maternity leave as of the 15th of June and had enough rest to mentally and physically prepare myself for the delivery. Everything went well towards the end of the pregnancy (except for a number of false alarms, which meant a few visits to the A&E department), and I was hospitalized a few days before I was due.

There were significant changes to the hospital in terms of how the staff were dressed, the areas that were cordoned off for the COVID-19 patients (passing by the restricted zones felt a little scary at times), and restrictions for visitors to the hospital. Although it was a public hospital, it was a rather peaceful experience.

If there is one key takeaway from this whole experience, it would be that your mindset is all you need to make things possible. Being pregnant during a full-blown global pandemic was not the most ideal situation to be in, but with the right support (family and colleagues) I am proud to say: I have survived.