Hello and welcome PBS39 and WLVT as community update on coronavirus.

It's brought to you with help from our community partner Lehigh Valley Health Network.

We're coming to you live from the PPE Public Media Center in Bethlehem.

I'm Brittany Sweeney our guest today include an LVHN doctor who will discuss Covid-19 @vaccines and women's health.

Also here is a parenting coach with some advice to help with parenting in a pandemic.

We'll meet them in just a few moments.

If you have a question, you can give us a call.

The phone numbers for a 4 8 2 1 0 0 0 8.

Our guests will answer some of your questions live.

Plus, four daily coronavirus updates.

Be sure to sign for our newsletter.

You can do that at our website coronavirus on Lehigh Valley .org.

You can find helpful information there in both English and Spanish.

Let's take look at today's top headlines.

St Luke's University Health Network today encouraged everyone to pre-register for Covid vaccines and warn about something we've been hearing a lot of.

There's not enough vaccine right now to acommon data.

Everyone who's eligible.

St Luke's is priority rising people aged 75 and older with supplies falling so short of demand it maintains.

Weeks after registering to get an appointment earlier this week, the Allentown Health Bureau filled two weeks of appointments and just three hours of announcing sign in Bethlehem Freedom High School students are learning remotely today and will stay that way through next week.

Superintendent Joseph Roy said the decision was made to pause hybrid learning because of 10 positive cases that the school this week.

Roy says the cases are not related and there's no evidence of trends.

Mission among students.

Hospital causations remain down from their peak of over 6000 as the total number of coronavirus cases NBPA approached.

800,000 today the State Department of Health reported 5338 new cases and 193 more deaths.

The death toll has reached 20,300 and 21.

A prayer service is set for Sunday at the Allentown Fairgrounds Service at 5pm We'll remember those who have died from Covid-19.

It's being held outside the AG triple-X where the Allentown Health Bureau will open a vaccination clinic Monday.

The service is open to the public with masks and social distancing required since the pandemic began.

Nearly 650 people in Lehigh County have died of Covid-19.

It's time now to meet our guests for the day.

Dr Elizabeth floating is an obstetrician and gynecologists with Lehigh Valley Health Network.

We'll discuss the Covid-19 vaccine and pregnancy.

I'd also like to welcome Linda Hayes Cooper.

She's a parenting expert who works with new and expectant families.

Thank you both ladies for joining us today.

Linda, we're going to come back to you in just a few minutes.

I'd like to start with Dr Floatie.

Today, Doctor, a lot of questions have been raised about Covid-19 and pregnancy and now with the vaccines and pregnancy, of course, my understanding is that the trials for vaccines didn't really focus on pregnant women.

So what do we know about these vaccines and pregnant women?

Is it safe for them to get these vaccines?

You are correct in that pregnant women were excluded from the trials, but in obstetrics, it's very common that pregnant women are needed from trials because of ethical issues.

So it's when we're discussing things with our patients, we usually do a risk versus benefit model.

So when I meet my patients and the person going on the medications, there are some medications that we know for certain are not season pregnancy and other ones.

We really don't have a lot of data on it.

So we discuss this with our patients and they make a decision on whether or not they want to do with it.

Same thing with this vaccine.

We commonly use the commonly give the flu shot.

Hepatitis B vaccine in pregnancy vaccines we do not get in pregnancy are ones that have live attenuated virus.

It so like MMR vaccine, the virus, the flu vaccine particularly has a inactive particle that activates your immune system to help create antibodies to the flu virus itself.

That's a how it protects you with the Covid vaccine and have the MRN a particle that's activated services in the same way.

So there are two different vectors the arm uses in its activate the same way.

Generally it should be safe.

And like I had said, risk versus benefit.

We do know CDC out once ago and said that pregnant women are at a higher risk of developing severe disease.

And just this past week JAMA published an article that looked at the largest cohort of pregnant women that showed that in fact pregnant women have to get Covid drink pregnancy, have a higher risk of developing up pre-term delivery.

Blood clots, heart heart attacks, stillbirths and meaning that violation and also death compared to their compared to women who have not had the coronavirus.

So for me personally, Bristol Covid far outweigh the risks of of the vaccine.

Plus all of our body is in the American Congress.

An obstetrician gynecologist inside of the image of the American reproductive medicine and also the American I'll say or recommend that pregnant lactating women are trying to get pregnant or undergoing IVF should be offered the vaccine.

Sure.

And I know that this is your area of expertise, not only seeing and treating pregnant women, but it's something you're personally experiencing right now.

Congratulations.

You're expecting your second child.

What's your experience been like?

Have you gotten the vaccine?

And through this whole Covid experience, what have your experience been when everything.

Well, having zero child at home and everything's in March, there's so much anxiety of the unknown.

I was pregnant, you know, pregnant back then.

But just being in health care, having a family is very there's a lot of anxiety associated with it.

And then obviously wanting to serve on our family and have a sibling, my 2-year-old or we when the vaccine became available and everything that I had just discussed this, no question I got my second shot last week and I very lucky to have these side effects, anything.

So I'm fully vaccinated.

Wonderful appointments.

That's the word I was looking for.

How of your appointments been going?

Typically someone can come with you.

Is that been your experience?

Can you have a visitor with you?

Are the visitations still really strict right now?

So as far as the routine appointments, the office you can have one.

You one visitor come and then for labor and delivery.

Still the same thing when only one person I think up.

So this small business says usually that.

Sure.

And let's discuss.

Pregnant women.

And then once they have the baby.

People who are nursing, people who are breastfeeding, can they get the vaccine as well?

I know you kind of touched upon this, but if someone just had their child, should they be getting the vaccine right away or should they wait a little bit?

No.

It is also recommended well, everyone has their own choice, but there's no data.

I guess they're not getting the vaccine.

All right.

And what risks are we seeing associated with the vaccine?

Are there any side effects that we're seeing with pregnant women getting the vaccine at this point?

I know it's so early in the game yet.

Not necessarily.

And since there's there are there are Reading National Registry is that women, pregnant women do get the vaccine and go on and register and then the data is collected.

I personally get anything and I'm from the other pregnant women that I know that gotten the vaccine.

So far it's been going well.

And walk us through the decision making process as a health care professional.

Maybe this was a no brainer for you, but what did you have to weigh?

What options did you have to weigh and what are some of the options?

Pregnant women, do they have to weigh right now when they're deciding whether to get that or not?

So when the vaccine first came out, obviously it being an are an Ahmaud Arbery vaccine.

I spoke to where it's Milford Bederson colleagues, where the higher doctors got their opinion on the safety of it.

And like I said before, as long as it is not a live attenuated back vaccine, it generally is safe in pregnancy.

So knowing that when CDC labeled pregnant women high risk category and then also knowing that the vaccine is generally safe.

So I decided get it.

Sure.

And what are you hearing from your patients?

Are they hesitant or are they lining up to get it?

What are you hearing from them?

Well, right now.

The majority of people just be the vaccine or health care providers.

So they have some some medical knowledge.

And I would say the majority of them are getting short.

Sure.

All right.

So are there any trials that you don't have right now that are looking at more extensively the risk factors when comes to pregnant women getting that vaccine this time?

I believe that right now they're just animal studies.

So so no payments yet.

But there is the registry for women who got the vaccine during pregnancy.

So that should end up being some sort of study.

Sure.

And of course, we're about almost a year into this pandemic.

I want to know if there is anything that pregnant women need to do to protect themselves differently than what someone who's not pregnant needs to do during this coronavirus.

Pandemic to make sure they're not contracting in.

I think everyone should be obvious, but especially pregnant women.

What we've been hearing Albright over again so good hand hygiene, avoiding going into crowds, being a large Gautrain over our holiday is legions of US verbals Thanksgiving and Christmas because I was high risk not vaccinated yet.

So it's the things that we've been hearing.

Albright, Oregon Hygiene wearing masks in a way large crowds and the vaccine was available to everyone.

Sure.

And if someone is pregnant and they come down with Covid-19 and then they go into labor cabinet expecting mother, then or new mother give Covid-19 to the baby.

So we call that vertical transmission.

And it has been reported cases.

There's now a very common thing to happen.

OK. And if that mother has Covid-19 the baby's born, what's kind of the protocol?

If you do have Covid-19 and you don't want to give it to the baby.

But of course, that bonding is so crucial when you first have a child.

What kind of the protocol, what procedures are in place so that the mother can still see the baby but not infect them?

The CDC says this is a joint decision and so it's really up to the mom and Lehigh Valley.

We are allowing moms and babies to stay together if they would like moms wants to be separated from their babies totally their choice.

Do not something that we're enforcing.

And in ideal situation, a third person will be there would be there to help take care of the baby that doesn't have active Covid infection.

And also ideally the monarchy breast-feeding so that the baby get some of the Covid anti-vice breast milk.

Ideally pumping with good hygiene and sanitation.

But as moms also really wanted to do direct breastfeeding, then they recommend wearing masks and S-antigen.

But really as a mom.

Absolutely.

And Dr Floating, generally speaking, when it comes to the virus, are we seeing men being infected at a greater rate, women being infected at a greater rate?

Does the virus distinguish between the two?

What do you know about that?

Gender roles?

Not that I see.

All right.

Wonderful.

And before we let you go, talk to us about some tips for new mothers and expecting mothers mentally.

What can they do to calm their anxieties, to calm their fears as they're welcoming a new child into this world?

Well, as you said, you brother Pocono the anxiety of having new Warren County being a new mom is real, especially during a pandemic.

So, I mean, my advice is just go with whatever I'm comfortable with.

Everyone's situation is that so it's hard for me to get some bootable advice.

It's but it's if you don't like visitors I met some patients.

You have any visitors, some patients who are masks.

I bet some patients who we do recommend that month that patients families get vaccines of being babies.

So some families or some moms might decide that they want their they want their family members to get the vaccine for visitation at once.

Def Reading it really is just But motherhood comes and goes- Ivyland each phase of the child's element, the anxiety changes so plug-ins motherhood.

Isn't that the truth?

One more question before you go.

Overall, the maternity ward has to feel a little bit different these days with the restrictions placed.

Talk to me about the changes and just the feeling overall with one visitor being allowed to see mom and baby.

It definitely makes you wonder why either a local mom's Facebook page.

And so a mom had actually asked about how it was not having deserves a lot of the feedback was very positive as far as being very relaxing by the quiet atmosphere.

So definitely is why we actually seemed to be having some pretty good some pretty good positive feedback from our moms on this.

But hopefully soon having more visitors back.

Great.

Thank you so much for joining us, Dr Elizabeth Flo Dean from Lehigh Valley Health Network.

We continue this community update on coronavirus on PBS39.

You can hear the rebroadcast on the radio tonight at 9:30 on WLVT News.

91 3F.

Let's bring in our next guest, Linda Hayes.

Cooper specializes in early parenting, something that's gotten harder in the pandemic because of isolation and so many other factors.

Linda, it's great to have you with us.

Our focus today has been expectant and new mothers.

It's a stressful period in life to begin with.

Then add it up in a pandemic.

Where do we start with all of this?

Where do you tell people when they come to you and say, where do I even begin to process all of this?

What's my yes, my Pfizer is to stay in the present moment because what we find is a lot mums and dads are coming in and asking for the help they need some help with helping regulate their emotions and their feelings quite stressed or anxious.

And that's usually because they're in future thinking, worrying, What if?

What if?

And that fear, you know, something might happen to them.

Something might baby.

And the communities completely change.

So staying in the present moment is something that I start with.

Most of my family's just a place to begin and calm down.

Absolutely.

You have a lot of experience working with expecting mothers and new families.

Talk to us a little bit about your background and your experience.

Yes, I am a clinical psychologist originally from Australia in Sydney.

My background prior to that, I started as a nurse and a midwife went on to be a baby whisperer in a couple of public and private sectors and also private practice of or lactation consultant and then in my own practice as clinical psychologist and at present I just picked up some training in the therapy and an LP practitioner.

So that's me at the moment.

Sean, as I mentioned, a very stressful time.

Whether you're either bringing a new child in or you already have have children right now.

your clients?

been hearing from- What have they been telling you?

What are some of the stresses they're facing right now?

Yes, a lot of the stresses are around isolation, separation, from the normal activities that they would be doing.

In many ways.

Parents have a loss of identity when they have their babies and EG moans that I find they're talking about this loss feeling greater because they don't have connected village as such in the same way as they would normally have had.

And also the excitement of people seeing the baby growing in the womb and experiencing it in the moment with them.

So they're experiencing a lot more sadness.

I would say around that desire to have more people enjoying the pregnancy with them.

Sure.

I didn't even think about that aspect where people are so excited to see your new baby right now.

They can't whether they're just coming to the door and seeing through the window or doing it virtually so.

What's your advice for those new moms?

Yeah, I mean, certainly we are so, so fortunate with the online services that we have with Zoom and House party apps, those sorts and social media apps that we can use to connect with our village family, with our friends and a loved one so that we can have the celebrations that we desired such a long time and mean planning for even since we little girls really.

So it's so important to stay connected and share those moments and czy Gary Day in the room which you present around the baby.

Sure.

Are there any exercise practices that you encourage those new moms to do?

Yes.

Staying present in the moment is, as I said before, is really valuable because when we when isolate ourselves from people, we become a little bit more sad and or depressed or even anxious and fearful of what's going to be happening, especially around this pendent.

past thinking, being present in the moment, say using your five senses as much as possible, connecting with the baby and as Dr forgien is saying that we are seeing mums dads experiencing some greater connection with their babies and toddlers through the isolation at times, yes.

Maybe more frustration because the close proximity and not being able to to have your own time and distance.

However, that's fairly normal impregnating post-natal period anyway.

But having those moments where you can really thoroughly be in all your senses with your little baby and your toddler and be playful with them in that moment.

Absolutely.

And the mind body balance, something you pride yourself on.

How would one go about striking that mind body balance and suddenly being aware of what's going on for you?

Most people stay in their heads with the thoughts that are coming up for them and not really connected to what's going on in their body.

The body is actually telling you lots of conscious information about what's going on and how fearful you might be feeling or experiencing if you're aware of what's going on in our bodies.

Say a heart pounding fast or our shoulders being tight headaches, those sorts of aches and pains that are going on in the body.

If we're aware of them, pay attention to them and know that that's just our body telling us that we need to take some time.

We need to take a breath maybe and connect with someone and then we can move to the next moment to make a decision on where you're going to go from there.

Sure.

And you talked about connecting with baby and spending a lot of time with baby.

But sometimes you might need a little bit of alone time, but you could be stuck in the house because of the pandemic.

How can you get take some alone time for yourself, even in your own home?

Yes, it's really valuable to keep the lines of communcation open with your partner and allow even some tag time between you guys with the infant so that you do get some solid time together and it may be that you do yoga or your exercise or even just reading a book or having a bubble bath alone without any distractions.

Just the same as you would ordinarily without the pandemic.

About some.

Yeah, just ensuring that it's factored in on everyone's calendar.

Sure.

Some great ways to fit in some self-care here and there.

And Linda, I wanted to talk about your own personal story and fortunately you're not exempt from the challenges of this pandemic in 2019 you moved to the United States from Australia for your husband's business and it's been kind of a bumpy road since then.

Of course, in 2020 that's when the pandemic hit.

Tell us a little bit about your story and the struggles you've been facing.

Yes, Well, the excitement of moving to a new country and starting afresh with my business over here, closed up shop with my practice would be great.

I'll start afresh and be here and online.

And I tapped into some businesses trying to build up my own business, started writing my book and thinking everything's going fine.

And then I just couldn't function.

I couldn't get things finished.

I was procrastinating because Covid came about in 2000 and 20 in March just as I was tackling walking the streets to negotiate with obstetricians and midwives and other services in the area to joining up with my work.

And unfortunately that didn't happen.

It shut down.

So all of a sudden I had this sinking feeling of my whole life.

This changed everything around.

Is all of a sudden going, oh, my expectations, all my excitement, my dreams, and then all of a sudden I realized that I still very important people around me are still got my interests.

I still have my identity, although I thought that I'd lost that I had sunken into depression and had a lot of troubles sleeping and completing tasks throughout the day.

And I must say that that went through most of 2012.

And it's picked up now and things are moving in the right direction.

I've got a lot of support.

I'm on board from family and friends and my husband.

And this is exactly to me what is parallel to what happens with new parents, with their sudden changes in their lifestyle and Staci Inez.

Absolutely.

I was just going to say.

Many people didn't move to a new country during this pandemic, but other things have plagued them and really been really stressful during this.

So what are some practices that you personally use to get through this and to remember that, you know, I have my friends, I have my family, I have this support system.

Yes.

Yeah.

On a regular basis, I tap into friends that I have and the support systems around me.

I'm fortunate where I live in the apartment block and I've got some close friends and although we practice out social distancing and loss, we connect quite often and feel our cups with a little bit of connection and love so that we support each other.

Breathing is valuable.

I can't give enough emphasis on just taking some slow in breaths and out breaths, maybe five to 10.

It just slows down the body and brings you back into awareness and decreases that stress on many levels.

So.

And the other element that I use quite often is meditation, mindfulness and meditation.

Being in my five senses, what do I see?

What do my feel?

What do I eat, taste sorry and what I hear or smell?

Really explore those senses.

And that grounds me back into the moment and then I'm able to take on the next steps.

But what am I doing today?

Absolutely, Linda, with the same advice apply for parents who have school aged children, maybe their home virtually learning.

Also parents who are working from home, you have that balance.

It gets kind of crazy.

You need a break with the same thing apply.

Yes, definitely.

Yeah.

Everyone needs time out.

Everyone needs time in also time in being with yourself and in your body and in what's important to you value your motivation.

Stay in touch with those, but ground yourself first so that you can actually move into helping other people and helping yourself into a better space.

Definitely.

And to be feeling hoping to Mount Penn.

Sorry.

Yeah, absolutely.

I was just going say before we go today what your words of advice for expecting or parents who have kids at home right now to manage that work life balance and kind of take some time for themselves.

What's your advice for them?

I would say stay focussed on what your value is and why you came together with your family.

You know, this is something so valuable for you and you came there for a reason.

Stay on that trend.

Know that you are not alone, that everyone else is experiencing the exact same.

And there is help out there.

There are support lines this clinician's the UNICEF CDC and the WHO organizations all have support on their online Summit Hill.

Absolutely.

Some great information.

Linda Hayes Cooper, thank you so much for joining us today as well as Dr Floatin.

We want to thank you for watching our community update on coronavirus.

We'll be back each day, each Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4pm for PBS39 and WLVT.

I'm Brittany Sweeney.

Stay safe.

Great ladies.

That is wonderful.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yes, you both did a wonderful job.

Thank you so much.

Some really valuable information things.

Thank you.

And if you want to watch it later, it'll be