MY PANDEMIC PREGNANCY

Last summer, we asked: “Are you or your partner pregnant -- or have you delivered in the past few months?” ... “We want to hear from you.”

In 2016, Valerie Collignon gave birth at 35 weeks, which resulted in a week-long NICU stay that she described as “traumatizing.”

Hilary Blevins wasn’t sure if she’d ever be a mom.

In writing this series, I’ve enjoyed hearing and learning about what’s been different, how people have been coping and adapting, and think about my own family’s timing and how we’ll manage it all.

It certainly wasn’t planned this way, but Claire Nackashi had to deal with almost every aspect of her pregnancy, pandemic-style.

When Kriss Reed learned she and her husband were expecting their first child, she started researching homebirths.

In an effort to be proactive about her health, last summer, Julianne C. scheduled a test. She had no idea where it would lead: Namely, to two life-changing discoveries.

Author’s note: This is not MY personal story, per se, (despite the “my pandemic pregnancy” headline), but a story told by our readers, week by week. Today’s is shared by Yvonne.

When Kayla Molina found out she was pregnant, she felt excited, hopeful and optimistic.

When she was six months along in her pregnancy, Patricia Alvarez tested positive for coronavirus.

When Delicia Garza’s newborn daughter underwent surgery, an operation that required an overnight hospital stay, the San Antonio woman said it felt like the walls were closing in on her.

When Hillary Calhoun’s fertility doctor brought her in for a procedure and then a nurse called her just a few short business days later, asking her to come into the office immediately, the now-36-year-old had a hunch something wasn’t right.

When Jennifer Cardenas found out she was pregnant, she envisioned a baby shower surrounded by her friends and family, carefree spring days filled with walks in the park, and her delivery, with her husband and her mother by her side.

Going though in vitro fertilization, or IVF, under normal circumstances, can be a challenge, both mentally and physically -- and for some, that’s phrasing it mildly.

When Melissa Vick gave birth to her first child, a son, in May 2017, she and her husband Greg felt like they were able to share him with their friends and family, almost immediately.

Are you or your partner pregnant -- or have you delivered in the past few months? We want to hear from you.