Finally ready postpartum to share the #Covid mitigations we took during labor (planned C Section 9/28) in case helpful to other expecting parents who want to protect their families / vulnerable newborn. Trolls & minimizers will be blocked 🧵
Our efforts can be largely attributed to @michael_hoerger who wrote this fantastic thread
1. N95s on myself/ husband all throughout delivery/ anytime outside our private room
2. Extra individually wrapped N95s/ KN95s in a bag taped to private room door (30+ masks were taken by HC workers/ hospital staff entering room so being a lot!”)
3. Note taped to door “please wear a N95/KN95 entering this room to protect our high-risk family”
4. Levoit 300 plug in HEPA. I didn’t ask permission, we just plugged it into the room asap. To avoid pushback about surge issues, invest in a portable Powerbank with AC 🔌
5. Portable mini HEPA purifiers for stroller (not super effective, but we have x2 anyway 🤷🏻♀️)
6. Built PAPR Buggy following case study linked. We rolled baby out of hospital & rode elevators in it. This provides us peace of mind for our Pediatrician follow-ups, too👏
7. Baby required echocardiogram - we insisted techs/doctors in room wore N95s. Husband brought PAPR system & blew air at baby… prob placebo effect 🤔
8. Aranet4 to monitor CO2 levels in hospital & private room. Stayed at 600-800, not terrible. I would have complained if ⬆️
9. Sip airtight drinking valve strongly recommended (see ⬇️)
WARNING: I was never told planned C-Sections are not given private rooms at our hospital pre/post & required an observed recovery window (min 2 hours) in a triage shared room with flimsy curtains & 3 other patients 😤
Fought for private room pre-surgery & they complied, but post-op (while super drugged up), rolled into shared recovery room. Other patients unmasked, nearly all HC teams in surgicals, frequent foot traffic (food service, cleaners, supply refills, +1s who are not PCR tested).
Plugged in HEPA, PAPR air at baby & 🤞 we wouldnt get infected. 8 hr wait for private room bc full & kept my N95 on except for quick sips of water*
*Strongly recommend the Sip mask attachment because that would have given me way more protection. My newborn, on the other hand 🤷🏻♀️
I’ve now seen stories of *many* people infected while received medical care in hospitals/ HC facilities. If PCR- required beforehand, and PCR+ within days of leaving hospital, possible legal options? 🤔 it appears to be the only way to inspire change in these businesses
@UnrollHelper unroll please
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It’s go time! Flight ✈️ to Florida for 1st work trip. Already a successful start 😮💨 low crowds, took minutes to check bag (paid in advance) & very short TSA line. Agent allowed me to keep mask on 🏆 I said I’m severely high risk & showed him maskless photo from outside
INTL terminal had camera to take our photos even so I’m relieved he supported me. Exhalaron by & @cleanairkits with portable battery running next to me. Aranet is now showing 742 (waiting by a closed gate with less people). Flight delayed 1 hour so I took my time checking in
Masks decorated w tattoos + chain, @Engineer_Wong Air Fanta packed, extra masks, profi, lumify + stoggles, betadine before/profi after, Crest CPC breath mist, packed polypropylene for hotel vents, airfanta mini (in case of quick water sip - @SIPmask untested so didn’t bring 😢)
Interesting convo w BIL after finally getting to host thanks to PlusLife. SF area liberal/high edu/affluent ppl in our network don’t see high rate of longcovid in their communities so don’t believe it’s high % risk. “Covid here to stay” so when will we stop being so careful?
Validated they believe longcovid exists (but how can “everything” be from COVID & not pre existing, age etc); think “like the flu” it’s an illness that is part of life now & 99% of pop have been infected so what can even be done now. Willing to take risk like other risks in life
Turned Q around, “if Covid here to stay, when will annual reinfections w 5% min. risk of 1 in 200 chronic conditions be enough to make behavior changes to stop getting infected? When will it be enough to care again?” Doubled down they aren’t seeing this risk in real life.
“jacket sewed & painted from scratch…influences from 19th century & earlier Burmese military/warrior court costumes…sewed an N95 into the front part of an exercise/sweat gaiter so that the tension & nose wire held the whole thing up while creating a decent seal with no straps”
Happy pride lewk 🙌🏼 they sold mask chains & ear savers & stickers at pdx's masked rad pride to add some masking style to the already beautiful community. Check out their designs: Peep the pink sip valve cover kit: saygay.redbubble.com etsy.com/listing/175709…
It’s SO important to air out a space before entering, even if no one is currently occupying. Infection story with permission from a friend: Despite being SUPER cautious, her husband woke up with a scratchy throat & nasal congestion. He was sure they hadn’t been exposed because…
they had been proactive about avoiding people/entering indoor spaces. Her intuition said to test & he was surprisingly positive 😭 They could not figure out the failure point. Couple days passed & they received an invoice for car detailing. Sure enough, the car tech confirmed…
He had entered their vehicle (didn’t notify them beforehand as typical). They were shocked. Could the infection come from exposure 3 HOURS after the detailing in the closed interior space of the car? 🤯 The answer is yes 😔 COV1D lingers without proper ventilation/air filtration.
So…I went full tilt in a large local moms FB group countering COV1D misinformation. Lots of expected 🤣 emojis & anti vax + angry lockdown rhetoric, but a few did speak up saying they are suffering from #LongCovid or had a really bad experience with the acute stage recently 🧵
A couple shared they had to bring their infants to the ER 😔 My delivery isn’t very kind these days (I’m working on it) because I’m exasperated by the minimizing of this virus & behaviors directly hurting our communities…I’ve lost empathy in year 5 & see individuals as complicit
Someone called me out for not being a great advocacy in my approach. I asked them what will get through because soft delivery hasn’t worked. This was their defense as to why people aren’t receptive: “It all sounds mentally exhausting. Millions of people are having a hard time…”
Negative 📉 PlusLife PCR on day 5 post baby’s surgery 🙌🏼 We wore masks everyday in our house, even to sleep with HEPAS on & windows open as extra measures. Recorded a rough video to demonstrate how the test works. Full video linked & snippets below. Thanks to @virus_sucks_ 🙏