On April 3, expectant mom Erin Persia and her husband “did a thing.” As Persia wrote on Facebook, she and her husband delivered their baby girl together, just the two of them, in the bathtub of their own home.
“So we did a thing today, in our bathtub, just the two of us,” Persia wrote with excitement on Facebook. “Now presenting Amelia Gracelyn Persia. She’s literally perfect.”
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Mom Gives Birth in Home Bathtub After COVID-19 Misunderstanding
The proud mom of four continued, “I’ve never been more proud of myself or my husband. Thank you so so much to my sweet neighbor for coming over on a heartbeat when I told her we needed her help and bless my parents’ heart who showed up just as she was born and helped me through every second after. Big shout out to my dad who went out and bought cake!”
As Persia concluded, she and Amelia “are doing great,” but added that they “have no clue how big she is,” before telling family and friends to “stay tuned” for more details. In an interview with CafeMom, the couple didn’t initially plan on giving birth inside of their home.
However, as Persia admits, a small misunderstanding led them to throw their original birthing plan out of the window and opt for a new one, one where she and her husband could be together because she didn’t want him missing out on his daughter’s birth.
As CafeMom reports, Persia made the decision to give birth at home after hospitals began banning spouses and support partners from being inside of the hospital in order to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19. Persia told CafeMom:
“When we had arrived at the hospital, they informed me my husband would not be able to be with me. As we walked into the entrance to labor and delivery, they stopped us at the doors and asked us a ton of questions and took my temperature, and then said he couldn’t come back with me because of COVID-19. After a panic attack, my husband convinced me to go back, and, if I needed him, to call. So, I went back and checked in.”
As Persia continued, she said she was treated coldly by those on staff that day at Virtua Voorhees hospital and ultimately made the decision to check herself out after being checked in. “I felt scared and alone, and everything in my gut was screaming to leave. So, I did.”
And Persia believes her body was in fight or flight mode during that time as her labor “just stopped.” The mom said she had every intention of going back to the hospital when things got going again. Then two hours later, she started laboring again and things got intense.
“We called my friend/neighbor to help manage the kids. The kids were interested and worried as to what was going on in the bathroom. And why was mom yelling? My great-grandmom had all of her seven kids at home, and I knew my body was capable of so much and that if I just trusted myself I would know what to do, so that’s what I did.”
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However, according to a Virtua Voorhees spokesperson, Persia’s husband should have never been told he couldn’t be there in the first place. “The one designated care partner — such as a husband — is allowed in the delivery room to be by the side of the birthing mom. There could be a need for the care partner to wait outside temporarily, but only during the initial assessment. If someone was told something other than that or misinterpreted what he or she were told, that would be an unfortunate miscommunication.”
Nonetheless, Persia and Amelia are doing well and as the mom told Persia, her OB even praised her for her bravery.
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