As the world marks Mother’s today, Claudia Calleja spoke to two women who gave birth during the coronavirus pandemic. They talk about the heartbreak of not being able to share this special time with their parents as they live in self-isolation to protect their newborns. 

Like many first-time mothers, Leanne Buttigieg imagined that once her baby was born she would be able to show him to the world… but then the coronavirus pandemic happened.

“I was looking forward to this. I wanted to show him the beauty of this big world, but our world ended up being between four walls. Our world shrunk and there was nothing we could do. It was painful – not even our parents could hold our baby,” she says, sitting in her living room, as her husband, Mark, holds their seven-week-old son – Daniel.

Leanne, 29, gets emotional and Mark places his hand on her shoulder. She recounts how her maternity leave started on March 7 – the day the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Malta.

“Towards the birth the stress started building. I was always looking at the number of cases found and praying for labour to start. As a pharmacist, I have a certain degree of knowledge about viruses, but the mother instinct was kicking in. It was no longer just about me. I was afraid for my baby,” she says. The couple entered self-isolation and, on March 19, they went to Mater Dei Hospital to finally meet their baby.

“I tried to face it with a strong mindset and focused on the end result,” she says, adding that, thankfully, husbands were still allowed to be present throughout and after birth, after being temperature-checked. 

It was painful as we wanted our families to meet our baby

“It was reassuring that visitors were not allowed in, especially since I was sharing a room with another mother. But it was painful as we wanted our families to meet our baby,” she says. After two nights they left hospital and stepped into the real world. It was a world where someone else’s sneeze or cough sent chills down their spines and groceries had to be wiped down.

On the way home, they drove past their parents’ houses so they could meet baby Daniel through the car windows. 

“It was scary and emotional. But I had my child and I was back home. With any newborn you worry, let alone when there is something you can’t even protect yourself from. In a way it was good that Mark is working from home because I have someone to open up to when I need to,” she says.

The couple now look forward to meeting up with their families to share this special time with them.

“All this showed me I’m capable of taking care of a child. If I was surrounded with family, I’d probably be thinking I wouldn’t have made it alone.  But I had no option. To the mothers who are going through it I say: this shows us what strength we hold.”

‘It was a difficult one’

When Liane Zerafa gave birth to her second child a month ago, her biggest fear was that, if she contracted coronavirus, she would be separated from her newborn.

“That is still my biggest fear. That is why we are living in self-isolation. Our baby’s grandparents have only seen our new baby from the balcony,” says the 29-year-old.

On April 1, Liane, her husband Sam, and their one-year-old son Max welcomed baby Sophie into the world. But this was a very different world Max was born into.

“With my first I felt I could take everything in. I could go out and prepare things for the nursery and the baby with friends and family. I could go out and meet other pregnant women to relate to and I could exercise outside home. I feel bad for first time mothers because they are being deprived of the whole experience,” she says.

Before the birth the family were living in self-isolation. At the time, Liane’s mother, who was between moving houses, moved in with them and was of great support.

On March 31, Liane started experiencing contractions and went into hospital. “At first I was scared. It was only a few days before that I had learnt that husbands had to leave after delivery. With my first baby my husband slept with me in hospital and it was a very wonderful experience,” she says.

Sam was only allowed to visit for one hour a day. “In that hour I wanted to update him about everything and, at the same time, find time to get organised,” she says, adding that the hospital staff was very kind and supportive throughout.

Even the experience of leaving hospital was different.

“I remember feeling worried because the wheels of the buggy went through the hospital where anyone who was positive for COVID-19 could have passed. When we arrived home, we disinfected the pushchair and the car seat.”

Being back home was stressful. It was not as simple as the first time. If the family needed wipes or nappies they had to order them and wipe them down. 

“This is a very weird experience. But we’ve made it through it. It’s difficult for mothers and they need support.”