Calgary mom details COVID concerns while giving birth

From masks to tight spaces in postpartum rooms — giving birth during the fifth wave of COVID-19 in Alberta comes with a lot of challenges families wouldn’t normally need to consider.

But, it’s a firsthand experience Brenna Ciereck shared with CityNews after giving birth to a baby girl at Calgary’s Foothills Hospital last week.

“When we were getting ready to check out there was a delay in our paperwork for a couple of hours and some of the nurses came in and told us that the reason why there was a holdup is that some of the staff were out with COVID,” Ciereck explained.

“We were not entirely surprised to hear that because through the course of us being there we noticed that a lot of staff were coming in just wearing surgical masks.”

Ciereck says she doesn’t know why they weren’t wearing N95 masks or eye protection but she was happy she was able to keep her N95 mask on the entire time.

“Obviously it went fantastic because we all went home COVID-free.”

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CityNews spoke to Ciereck just before Christmas when she was nine months pregnant.

Back then, she shared concerns about being in a postpartum room, and after this experience, feels those concerns were at least somewhat justified.

“If anyone has ever been to university, they know what the dorm rooms are like, they’re very, very small, especially if you’re sharing with another person,” she said.

“So, essentially, just think about a dorm room and having a curtain down the middle and that is the Foothills Hospital labour and delivery ward.”

She doesn’t believe there was six feet between her and the other mom and newborn, but despite the tight space, she says she felt safe as she was paired with another couple that were just as cautious as them.

Ciereck feels lucky to have had a great experience bringing her baby girl Coraline Magnolia into the world.

“We’re looking forward to maybe going back there in the future with maybe baby number three.”