Wagga neighbours Kaitlyn Haran and Rachel Smith will never forget having their first babies in 2020.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Adelyn Smith, aged 15 weeks, and Zoey and Luna Haran, aged three months, were all born into a world changed by the pandemic.
Their mothers turned to each other for support during the uncertainty of lockdown, in which usual nurses' visits and doctors' appointments were moved or cancelled.
"We found there were other people that were in the same situation feeling extremely isolated and alone," Mrs Smith said.
Mrs Smith and Mrs Haran started a Facebook group, "Wagga Babies 2020", for other women facing similar challenges, which has grown to 128 members in only a couple of weeks.
Mrs Haran said her pregnancy was considered high-risk, but her weekly check-ups had to be cancelled because of the virus.
"I actually got transferred to Canberra when I was 31 weeks. And that's when COVID-19 stared ramping up completely. My mum had driven from Newcastle to Canberra hospital because I thought I was giving birth," she said.
Then [the hospital] told her, 'No, the rules have changed in the last hour. You have to leave the hospital'. So she drove all the way back in one day.
"I just cried and cried and cried. My husband's amazing ... but sometimes you just want your mum."
Mrs Smith, whose father is battling cancer, said baby Adelyn only met her grandparents for the first time in July.
"My mum cried. It was really hard for me to watch my dad," Mrs Smith said.
"And then I spoke to my aunt about it who went through breast cancer six years ago. She said he probably doesn't feel like he can acknowledge her because he doesn't have the strength to do anything with her."
She and Mrs Haran agreed there was strength to be found in other new mothers during this unforgettable year.
"We all know we're in it together ... and if everybody can reach out to somebody, that will help in a big way," Mrs Smith said.
Things have been quite different for the Riverina's Juanita Cox, whose new baby Chloe is her fifth child.
"[Coronavirus] hasn't affected things to a great extent for me, probably because she is number five," Mrs Cox said.
"So some of the services that people would usually make use of, especially with your first and second babies, like having the child health nurses visit, I didn't have a need for them anyway."
Mrs Cox said the pandemic had given her more time to spend at home, where she would usually be out with her four older children for their homeschooling activities.
"I didn't have to be out and about with a baby ... The older kids new we couldn't be out so we've all been at home. Which has made the transition of having a baby a lot easier," she said.
"Getting out with a new baby can be hard work."
Mrs Cox said she had been able to join in on an online Zoom meeting run by the Australian Breastfeeding Association.
"Because it was available online I was able to get to that when Chloe was born," she said.
"Maybe you wouldn't get out to a breastfeeding group meeting so early with a newborn, but because it was online a couple of us were able to access it even more so."
The Australian Breastfeeding Association's Wagga and Riverina group leader Ashley Pattison said new mothers needed additional support during the COVID-19 emergency.
"There is that lack of availability of face-to-face contact during this pandemic and mums do find that to be challenging," Ms Pattison said.
"We have found that there are increased number of calls to our hotline.
"And as a not for profit organisation we try to offer as much support as we can locally. We are here to support all mums and once the pandemic is over we will be back to creating groups."