MEMPHIS, Tenn — One doctor who was pregnant during the pandemic is urging other expecting moms to get vaccinated to protect not only themselves, but also their babies.
Dr. Erin Watson, who practices post-acute care at Regional One, was 6 and a half months pregnant working 12 shifts a month during the pandemic.
She also works in Methodist Hospital’s emergency room.
“I felt like it kind of, which most mothers feel, robbed me of my joy a little bit because my family was planning baby showers,” shared Dr. Watson.
Even those things looked different. She, like other soon-to-be moms, had to adapt, and plenty of those other moms had worries, too.
“The way that I practice medicine is 'I'm a doctor, but I'm a human too, right'?” said Watson. “I'm pregnant, I'm a mother as well. So I tell you the doctor facts, everything I know and then I also would tell my patients and my friends and family what I was actually doing to kind of combat some of those questions that they asked.”
Watson said the COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t impact your DNA, meaning it cannot cause long-term effects, such as infertility.
About eight months into the pandemic, Dr. Watson shared she wanted to pour her knowledge in tips into a guidebook, “Pregnancy During a Pandemic.”
“I wanted to not only just reach the people that were in my immediate surroundings, but try to also reach, you know, others to the masses, if I could.”
She did so by taking notes of all the questions she was being asked by pregnant women.
Top of mind for many was will my spouse be able to be in the delivery room?
“It's up to the facility of where we are with our numbers,” said Dr. Watson. “So you know, as I would tell my friends, or for myself, I would call the hospital like at the beginning of every week, what's the new guidelines?”
Second, what are the dangers of getting COVID while pregnant?
“Having COVID with pregnancy does increase their risk of miscarriage, preterm delivery, fetal demise, things like that,” explained Watson. “So that's why we push people to get vaccinated.”
The doctor also shared words of advice to expecting mothers.
“Continue to wear your mask and know that there are fun things that you can do and that you can still have a great pregnancy you can still have the friends and family you know the virtual or drive-thru baby shower.”