A TEENAGE mum from Romsey has spoken of the stress of giving birth during the coronavirus lockdown.
Amelia Sherman, 17, gave birth to her baby boy Reggie Zacharides on Tuesday, May 5, after 12 hours in labour.
Now the first time mum has revealed the nerve-wracking build up to the day after not knowing for months whether she would give birth alone at the Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton.
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Amelia, who lives in Viney Avenue, said: "I am a first time mum and it was definitely nerve-wracking because all of the antenatal appointments were cancelled before my birth, so it was scary going into the unknown.
"My midwife told me at appointments to be prepared for things to change, because it would depend on how bad the virus got and I was not assured I would be allowed to have my birth partner until I was about to give birth.
"It was horrible not knowing and it was the only thing I was really nervous about, because it would have been a lot worse if I didn't have my partner Connor with me as he is amazing."
The beauty therapist added: "I was scared for Reggie because I did not expect to go into labour three weeks early as he was due on May 26; I think I was a bit naive when I thought 'maybe the virus would be gone before I give birth', so I didn't really prepare as much as I should have.
"It was quite strange because Connor and I had to have tests for coronavirus and thankfully they came back negative, so we were reassured Reggie had not caught it.
"Reggie had an infection when he was born and we are not 100 percent sure what it is because it could have been a few things, but he has had lots of tests and is on anti-biotics now.
"We are having our temperature checked every four hours now, but is is upsetting mine or Connor's family cannot see Reggie until things have eased off with the virus."
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Amelia stressed months before giving birth her mum, Laura Mellor, was "shocked to see no nappies or baby milk" sometimes while she was shopping for her daughter.
The 17-year-old said: "I thought I would be safe by staying at home during lockdown, because I did not want to risk catching the virus as the outcome is unknown."
When asked what her and Connor Zacharides, 18, will do to celebrate their son's birth, Amelia said: "We want to have a welcome to the world party for everyone who hasn't met Reggie, but when that will happen really depends when the lockdown is over."
Amelia gave birth to Reggie at 11.17am where he weighed in at six pounds and eight ounces.
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