We had already met Julia Teresani when she told us about her moving to Shanghai during the pandemic. Today we are so happy to tell you that she gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby girl…during lockdown in Shanghai! We are grateful to Julia for sharing this amazing story with Expatclic.
In my culture, we touch wood when things go well. I probably forgot to do so…
When I arrived in Shanghai last July, I thought we were escaping the pandemic situation in Europe, as China was handling the virus well. There were still many restrictions in Europe, but we had a relaxed life in Shanghai. However, things have changed this April, with the outspread of the omicron variant.
Lockdown in Shanghai
On the 1st of April, the government announced the lockdown in Shanghai. At the beginning, it had to be a separate lockdown just for five days in the two areas of the city, but it took two full months of our lives.
I already experienced the lockdown in Barcelona in 2020, which looked so drastic to me at that moment. Now, after our experience here, Spanish lockdown seems so light. In Barcelona, we could go shopping and order things online. In Shanghai, we could not leave the apartments during the first weeks. The entire city of 26 million people was under lockdown, except for the hospitals and quarantine places.
Pregnancy during lockdown
I was 30 weeks pregnant when they announced the lockdown. My due date was the 5th of June. I thought they would release us before that date, but as they say, if you want God to laugh, tell him your plans.
We had to deal with a lot of challenges.
People could leave home only in exceptional cases. Luckily, pregnancy was one of them. We were supposed to have a check-up every two weeks. However, the hospital allowed us to come for the appointment only with a negative PCR test taken 48 hourse before. The government was arranging the nucleic acid tests randomly, so we could not know when they were going to do tests. I was booking the appointments according to the PCR test results. I also needed to request permission to leave home from the building management.
Another issue was transportation. It was challenging to arrive at the hospital without your own car, as the whole public transport was paralyzed. We could only get a vehicle with special permission to drive in the city for a ten times higher price.
Food supplies were another challenge. Before announcing the lockdown, we bought the products with the idea that we would stay home only for five days. How naive! Although the government provided essential goods to citizens, such as veggies, rice, meat, milk, washing liquids, and toilet paper, it was a real struggle to deliver anything else home, as the entire city was blocked. After one week, I discovered a group in our compound building, where people purchased the goods together. This group seemed to be a unique possibility to get more food. I called it a “food hunt,” as usually there were limited lists for the products, so you always had to be very fast to order them.
There were many questions in our heads. What will happen if I go into labor? How will we arrive at the hospital? What if we do not have a 48h PCR test? And if I catch the virus, will they take me, a pregnant woman, to the quarantine places designed by the government? The truth was that no one could answer them, as the situation was new to everyone
You could get anxious about all of it. But here is the power of pregnancy: you manage to stay calm for the baby and hope for the best.
I also will never forget our incredible neighbors. We supported each other and shared the goods when someone was in urgent need. What a great sense of community! One of our neighbors baked cookies for Easter for the children. Our Italian friend supplied us with all newborn stuff, as we literally had nothing for the baby. Another neighbor helped us with the diapers and, just in case, gave us baby formula.
It is amazing how people can support each other in challenging moments.
Giving birth during lockdown
Our impatient baby came to this world three weeks earlier. We were still in lockdown at that moment. Luckily, things were smoother in practice. The ambulance arrived in 10 minutes. We did not have a PCR for 48h, but they did it for us directly in the hospital. My contractions started at midnight, and five hours later, on the 10th of May, our daughter Elisabeth came to this world with the first rays of the sun. The moment she was born, I was born with her as a mother. There is something magical about giving birth; it fills you with love, and this love makes you a much stronger person.
They lifted the lockdown on the 1st of June. Although it is still very recent, this period of our life seems unbelievable. Hoping to get PCR tests on time to go for the doctor’s appointment; requesting permission to go to the check-ups; “hunting” for food; collecting things from the neighbors for our daughter; praying to not end up in quarantine places designed by the government.
It all seems insane. However, I like to think that this lockdown was also beneficial to us, as our baby girl could have two parents at home 24h during her most vulnerable period of life.
Elisabeth inherited this unusual story of her birth during the strictest lockdown ever.
Julia Teresani
Shanghai, China
July 2022
Julia’s Instagram
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