DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Expecting a baby is a life-changing experience, but during a pandemic it comes with added stress.
At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, Laura Carter and her husband learned they would soon become a family of four.
"Right as everything was starting to close down and right when things were getting real concerning," Carter said.
Carter is four months pregnant and expecting her second son in December in Delray Beach. She's healthy, but right now spending time in Cape Cod with her parents as South Florida remains an epicenter of the pandemic.
"I don't do any of the grocery shopping. We either get it delivered or my husband goes. I don't really go much of anywhere," Carter said.
At Triple O Medical Services in West Palm Beach, Dr. Olayemi Osiyemi, an infectious disease specialist, said he's seeing more pregnant women testing positive, and recently between one and five expecting moms per day.
"But most of those pregnant women are not very sick. They're a lot of times asymptomatic and so they're coming to deliver they get swabbed and they show they're positive," Osiyemi said.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 16,000 pregnant women have been infected with the virus since the end of January.
There is zero evidence pregnant women are more likely to get COVID-19, but the CDC now said they are more likely to be hospitalized with severe symptoms.
"It's not causing me any extreme anxiety, but it's constantly on my mind," Carter said.
Laura is flying back to Delray Beach next week before her third trimester, and with cases still high, she plans to quarantine as much as possible.
"That still concerns me and I'm treating myself like I am high risk and trying to take more precautions than I would have," Carter said.
Dr. Osiyemi said with his patients, most babies have been fine, but a baby can be infected.
If you are expecting, experts said the best thing you can do is wear a face mask, wash your hands often, isolate yourself when needed, and don't miss any doctor's appointments.
