so patients can check their own pressure
at home, and they weigh themselves on a
home scale during the video visit. Wexler
can even check a cesarean scar during a
virtual visit, she says, adding that her
patients are accepting of these new
practices. “A lot of patients don’t want to come in,”
she says. “They don’t want to be exposed.”
Another tool? An app called Babyscripts
that physicians use to send patients
updates, or patients use to document blood
pressure and other health indicators.

Other worries
Delivering During a Pandemic
And Why You Don’t Need to Be Afraid
During the thick of the COVID-19 health crisis, seemingly everything—from
businesses, to schools, to routine healthcare appointments—came to a pause.

But as mothers know, one thing that can’t be put off is childbirth.

With a new normal, and “stay home” being the mantra, the thought of walk-
ing into a hospital right now can be daunting.

Since March, Adventist HealthCare has been following guidelines from
the Centers for Disease Control, the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists, the National Institutes of Health and the state of Maryland to
keep patients safe.

“While your labor and delivery experience should be no different than
normal, we’ve implemented several new policies to ensure the safety of
our moms, babies and caregivers,” says Kathy Schaaf, RN, Birth Advisor at
Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center.

For instance, Shady Grove enacted a new visitor policy, limiting labor and
delivery patients to one visitor for the entirety of their stay. Also, when moms
arrive at the hospital, they are routed to avoid high-traffic areas.

Upon reaching the Birth Center, all patients and visitors are screened prior
to entering the unit.

“While many things can be put off during this health crisis, we know that
childbirth cannot wait,” Schaaf says. When moms go into labor, the first thing
they should do is call their obstetrician.

Obstetricians with privileges at the hospital keep in close contact with the
Birth Center and will call to let staff know when moms are on their way.

While delivering during a pandemic is not something anyone could have
prepared for, it’s important for moms to remember how exciting of a time this is.

“New life brings joy,” Schaaf says. “During a time of such uncertainty, keep
in mind that one thing is for certain: Your life is about to change
in the best way.”
—Provided by Adventist HealthCare
White Marsh mom Joahnna Fournier
understands the unique anxieties. She is a
mom, a pediatric nurse practitioner, and
she delivered her second child, a little boy
named Asa, on March 24.

“I was happy to have my husband with
me,” she says. “My anxiety since being
discharged is trying to still meet the edu-
cational needs of my other child, who is in
kindergarten, since we are now having to
provide distance learning all while tending
to a newborn. Kids need social stimulation,
too, and acquire basic problem-solving
skills just by being at
school with their peers
on a daily basis.”
She is trying to stay
optimistic. “I hope
we can all stay
healthy through
this and pray that
our children can
still thrive with
social distanc-
ing,” she says.

Second-time mom Sari Lerner of
Burke says she too is
staying optimistic in this
stressful time.

“Mentally, I also feel
Asa Fournier was born
like I’m doing pretty
on March 24.

well. I’ve struggled with
anxiety my whole life,
but surprisingly, I feel like it has been under
control during this time,” Lerner says. “I
take the things I can control seriously, such
as allowing only immediate family within
six feet of me, not going to stores, stay-
ing home, not reading every single news
24 Washington FAMILY JUNE 2020
report, avoiding
all of the pres-
idential press
conferences and getting
my informa-
tion from a
more reliable
source.” Instead, she
has been keeping
busy, taking naps when
she needs to and “allowing
myself to be sad some-
times that this isn’t the
experience I anticipated.”
Lerner is a high school
special education teacher for Fairfax
County Public Schools. She has a daughter
who is 4½ and was scheduled to deliver her
son by cesarean section early this summer.

“I’ve always said my birth plan contains
two must-haves: a medical professional and
drugs. My doctor has been reassuring that I
will have both,” Lerner says.

“I am disappointed that I will not have
the photo shoot in the hospital that I
planned for after the birth. My daugh-
ter will not get to come to the hospital to
meet her brother. No one will be visiting us.

All that is sad,” she says, “But in the end, a
healthy baby and mom are what matters. I
will roll with the punches.”
Wexler, who is the mother of four, has
been prioritizing sleep, exercise and med-
itation when she is not with her patients.

She and her family live on a farm, and car-
ing for their animals has been another
good outlet for all them, she says. What
also helps is the care and concern every-
one is showing each other. As a physician,
she is always asking patients how they are
doing; now they are asking her and her
staff the same question.

“I’m amazed at the little compassionate
moments,” she says. T



“THE MOUNTAINS
ARE CALLING ,”
Get Out & Celebrate
John Muir once said, a famous
quote that’s made its way onto plenty of coffee
mugs in the last few years. We’re sure you’ve
seen them.

But the mountains are calling. So, too,
are the golf courses, the bike trails, the
Chesapeake Bay. Even our own backyards.

And we must go.

It’s Father’s Day and this year we are
spending it outside, soaking in that
vitamin D and breaking a sweat.

We’ve spent a long spring facing a
global pandemic. Now it’s time to
put down that cute mug and grab the
sunscreen. Pack the trail maps. Pitch
the tent.

This year,
Father’s Day
is an
outdoor activity
FLUXFACTORY/[COLLECTION NAME]/GETTY IMAGES.

WashingtonFAMILY.com 25