TOLEDO, Ohio — The coronavirus is prompting big changes for families looking to welcome new life.
Extra precautions at hospitals mean something different when it comes to how people are able to give birth.
"Makes it a little bit more lonely, don't get to share the joy with this pregnancy as much as I did with the other ones," Ashley Whitman said.
Whitman is getting ready to have her third child and now has to go to doctor appointments alone for safety.
She and her husband both have diabetes. Along with her being pregnant, they are taking every precaution possible to stay healthy for their little one due in early September.
"Even in my office I'm locking the door and staying away from everybody. At home I'm only around my family, I don't go out unless it's absolutely necessary and even then it's minimal contact in and out," Whitman said.
Amanda Park is expecting her first child in just a few weeks and is worrying about coronavirus on top of experiencing this all for the first time.
"I can't have any visitors when I deliver, I can only have one person per 24 hours so that's kind of a big issue since my mom, my grandma and my boyfriend want to be there," Park said.
With everyone making runs to the store to stock up, she's also had trouble getting essentials for her daughter.
"With them saying this lock-down is going to be extended, it's really hard to project what is going to be on the shelves in two weeks and with things like that, diapers, wipes, you know you're going to need them," Park said.
Dr. Brian Kaminski at ProMedica wants expectant parents to know that while there are changes to who can be in the delivery room, much about the process will remain the same.
"There was some concern about what could potentially happen, but our observation so far is that in general pregnant women tend to do pretty well as do the newborns in this scenario," Kaminski said.
ProMedica also has plans in place should a mother test positive for COVID-19.
"There are additional precautions we take. There are additional visitor restrictions, we use a negative airflow room which actually brings air out of the room and into the outside environment in those situations," Kaminski said.
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