Being A New Mom Is Challenging In Best Of Times, Let Alone During COVID-19 Outbreak

CHICAGO (CBS) – It's called the fourth trimester—the three months after a mother gives birth. Now, due to COVID-19, it is a time fraught with increasing risks for mom and baby.

Michele Steffens made plans months ago to have both her mom and husband with her when she delivered her daughter, Maeve. While mom and baby are doing well, COVID-19 changed all that. Only her husband was allowed.

Steffens' parents had planned move in and help out for at least three months, but the virus sent them back to Texas after two weeks.

"And, you know, they don't really know when they're going to be able to safely travel back to see her," Steffens said.

Now with her husband back to work, Steffens has had to battle the baby blues in isolation.

"So now I'm alone. It's lonely, it's difficult," Steffens said. "It's physically taxing and it's emotionally taxing."

Dr. Gil Weiss, with the Association for Women's Healthcare, says, for many new moms, it's more than just the baby blues.

"Postpartum depression is definitely on the rise due to the current pandemic," Weiss said.

And Weiss fears that rise could be steep.

"It's not unreasonable to think that postpartum depression rates are going to double from 20% to 40%," because of COVID-19, he said.

But despite that, he still says new mothers must practice social distancing to protect their newborns.

"They are very vulnerable. They are newborn babies, whose immune systems are not really as active as a three-year-old child or a 12-year-old, or a 15-year-old," Weiss said.

Dr. Weiss recommends teleconferences with medical professionals and video chats with family members and other loved ones. Steffens says they showed off Maeve recently by holding the baby over the fence while friends and loved ones drove by to admire the family's new addition.