BBR - Biochemistry and Biotechnology Reports

A first-time mother who made the difficult decision to have a home birth amid the coronavirus pandemic ended up welcoming her baby boy in the hospital after her midwives were forced to call an ambulance due to complications.    

Nancy Pedroza, 27, from Fort Worth, Texas, was rushed to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest by masked emergency workers after her unborn child's heart rate suddenly dropped.

Pedroza, who was joined by her partner Ryan Morgan, spent hours laboring in a mask before giving birth to a healthy baby boy named Kai Rohan Morgan on April 8.






Emergency: Nancy Pedroza, 27, from Fort Worth, Texas, was rushed to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest after complications arose during her home birth 







Little miracle: Perdoza and her partner Ryan Morgan welcomed a baby boy named Kai Rohan Morgan amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 8


A photographer captured her at-home labor up until she was whisked away to the hospital, where there were strict safety precautions in place due to the pandemic. 

As a first-time mother with no idea what to expect, Pedroza was convinced the hospital was the safest place to have her baby, but that conviction turned to doubt when in late March most U.S. states ordered residents to stay home. 

Hospitals and doctors began taking new precautions to protect pregnant women and their babies against the novel coronavirus sweeping the nation.

So, at 40 weeks pregnant, she turned to a midwife to help her have a home birth. She and Morgan were about to become parents in the middle of a pandemic.






RELATED ARTICLES


Previous

1

2

Next




Dial-in daddy! First-time father has to watch the birth of... Meghan Markle's wedding day makeup artist Daniel Martin...

Who needs Netflix! Fashion influencer gets her friends to...




Share this article

Share








Team: Pedroza is pictured at an appointment with her licensed midwives Susan Taylor, 40, who checks her stomach, and Amanda Prouty, 39, before her baby's due date 







Plan: The first-time mom had made the difficult decision to have a home birth during the global crisis. Pedroza is pictured experiencing contractions while Taylor sits on the bed 







Labor: Pedroza's doula Nichollette Jones and her partner took her for a brisk walk to speed up her contractions 







Painful: Pedroza held on to Morgan as she experienced contractions on their walk 







Safety first: Prouty and Taylor wore masks while walking with the couple


'Things were changing so fast,' said Pedroza, who lives with her partner at her parents' house. She had to go alone to all her visits with her obstetrician where before she had brought Morgan or a doula, a birth assistant.

But what really scared her was the uncertainty of who would be allowed to stand by her side at the hospital when the baby came into the world. 

She would have to choose between Morgan and her doula. The hospital would allow only one and warned her the policy could change and it might bar all visitors.

'It was scary to feel like I might have to do it alone,' she said, noting that the doctors and nurses were not the same as those who had supported her throughout her pregnancy. 






Speeding it along: Pedroza used a breast pump to try and speed up her contractions while laboring at Taylor's home







All together: Morgan helped to pump her breastmilk to try and speed up her contractions while Jones and Taylor ????? comforted her 







Change of heart: Pedroza was convinced the hospital was the safest place to have her baby, but that conviction turned to doubt most U.S. states ordered residents to stay home







Next step: As her contractions intensified, Pedroza moved to a birthing tub in Taylor's home







Support system: Pedroza held onto Morgan during her painful contractions 


'It's nothing like having someone there that you care about and cares about you that's willing to hold your hand and tell you this is going to be OK.'

As COVID-19 puts the globe on pause and changes every aspect of daily life, women are entering motherhood with a mixture of anxiety, fear, and frustration. 

Some countries and a few U.S. hospitals have banned everyone from the delivery room. Others are separating women who become sick from their newborns.

By early April, with her baby past due and learning Medicaid would not cover a home birth, Pedroza considered giving birth at home without any medical assistance.






Birthing story: After laboring for several hours in a birthing tub in Taylor's home, Pedroza started pushing







Emergency: The baby's heart rate suddenly dropped from 130 to 30 when she was in labor 







No other choice: Pedroza's midwives called an ambulance to take her to the hospital 







COVID-19 precautions: Emergency workers wore masks as they put her on a stretcher 







Rush: Pedroza was carried on an ambulance stretcher before being taken to the hospital 


She got in touch with midwife Susan Taylor on Facebook, who not only lowered her fee but offered up her own home when Pedroza's mother became uneasy about the idea of her grandchild being born in her bathroom or bedroom.

But Pedroza was running out of time. Legally the midwife had to transfer Pedroza's care to a hospital if she went past 42 weeks of pregnancy. A sonogram showed the baby's fluid levels were low, ????? which can cause complications during birth.

After a membrane sweep, a visit to a chiropractor, a brisk walk and using a breast pump to stimulate labor, the contractions started.

After laboring several hours in a birthing tub in Taylor's home, Pedroza started pushing, but the baby's heart rate suddenly dropped from 130 to 30, so the midwives called an ambulance.

Masked emergency workers put Pedroza onto a stretcher and wheeled her to an ambulance that took her and ????? Morgan to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest around 1 a.m. Taylor rode with her in the ambulance, monitoring the baby's heartbeat. 






On the go: Masked emergency workers took Pedroza and Morgan to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest around 1 a.m.







Capturing the moment: Morgan filmed Pedroza giving birth to their son on April 8. Prouty is pictured watching the footage two days later 







Heading home: Pedroza is pictured holding her one-day old son Kai as she waits for Morgan to get the car as the leave the hospital 







Leaving: The couple left the hospital with their baby 36 hours after she gave birth 







After welcoming their healthy baby boy, the couple returned to her parents' home in Fort Worth, where they are living together







Vitals: Taylor took her temperature at a newborn screening two days after she gave birth 







Bonding: Pedroza is pictured breastfeeding her son at home two days after giving birth 


But once at the hospital, her midwives had to leave.

'Once I got the epidural administered and calmed me down a little bit and realizing I'd still be able to do this myself without possibly having a C-section and hearing the baby's heartbeat on the monitor it brought me so much comfort that I didn't care I was at the hospital at that point,' said Pedroza, who worked as a massage therapist before becoming pregnant.

After laboring with a mask on for hours, at 5:55 a.m. on April 8 her baby boy was born, weighing 8 pounds and 5 ounces.

The hospital gave Pedroza and Morgan masks to wear anytime someone entered their room. Some staff also wore masks and gloves when they helped with breastfeeding and took their vital signs.

'It's already kind of scary thinking that it's a possibility that you're going to be in an environment that is contaminated or that puts you at risk or your baby at risk,' Pedroza said.

'What puts me on edge more is seeing everyone with that attire and being very adamant about wearing it.'