#covidbaby #quarantinebaby
These types of # have frequently been spoken about in the infertility support groups I am a part of. For so many women struggling with infertility, these # have such a negative connotation. Every time they see them, they are triggered with anger.
The anger stems from the # giving the connotation that it’s easy to get pregnant. That couples had nothing better to do but have sex and get pregnant. Many women struggling with infertility feel like #quarantinebabies and #covidbabies were not planned, and it feels like a slap in the face to their struggle. Like it’s a big joke to get pregnant easily.
If you are struggling with infertility and these # bother you, I implore you to reconsider. Let me shed some light on my perspective.
These #quarantinebabies and #covidbabies are living history. The first babes of our generation born into a global pandemic. These babies are special. Even if their parents mean the # in a way you can’t stand, try to think of it from the perspective of the baby. It’s cool that they get to be a part of the phenomenon. When the world didn’t know what to do, they knew how to be born. When the world shut down, they showed up. It’s powerful.
Next, you have no idea what another human being is going through. IVF is finally back up and running (thank the good Lord, but beware of a nation wide shortage of Menopur) and every #covidbaby and #quarantinebaby had the potential to have needed reproductive assistance. And if you’re going through treatment now, you know how hard it is. You know how hard going to the appointments alone is. Scheduling the virtual appointments. Losing the human element of your WTF appointment. Enjoying the highs without your partner present. Surviving the lows without your partner present. Waking up from anesthesia alone. It is a fucking hard time to be infertile. Imagine surviving your treatment right now, living through injection/medication hell, finally getting the news of your dreams and getting pregnant. You deserve to use the #. Because you survived something so heavy, and so real, and these # pay homage to your struggle. I see them as a sign of survival of a hard time.
Next, just as infertility treatments are difficult right now, so are prenatal appointments when you are expecting. I feel especially bad for first time moms at the moment. The constant worry about covid, constant need for PPE, having to go to every appointment alone, worrying about testing positive in the delivery room, laboring with a mask…parts of it are just so heavy and unusual. Whether you struggled to get pregnant for years, this is a surprise pregnancy, your first pregnancy, or your last, the operation isn’t normal. Again, the # pay homage to that struggle. They lend to the fact that these pregnancies have been extremely isolating, nerve-wracking, and that they just happened during such an unsettling time.
As I approach my due date with my 4th little miracle baby, I feel that he is special. Created during a pandemic. Created with love, and so wanted with all our hearts. He is our warrior of such a strange period of time. He is our covid baby. He is our quarantine baby. I am his quarantine mama.
Infertility warriors, I hope the next time you see these # with any kind of announcement, you’re able to see a new light. When you’re struggling with infertility it is so easy to be consumed with grief when you think someone else is having it easy. But these # don’t necessarily mean it was easy. They are a movement; a phenomenon. A piece of history. I hope you can see them that way <3
