Caroline (who spoke to Yahoo Life on the condition of anonymity) had it all mapped out. She’d serve as a bridesmaid in two weddings over the spring, give herself and her husband some time to achieve some personal wellness goals and get the ball rolling by making doctor’s appointments to discuss fertility planning and genetic testing. If all went as planned, she’d be pregnant by mid-2020, and deliver next spring, strategically avoiding having to endure the scorching summer heat in her last trimester.
“We hoped to attend some fun spring weddings and enjoy the flowing champagne and then promptly begin trying for a baby,” she tells Yahoo Life of her plans, which accounted for just about everything, but a global pandemic.
Now those weddings have either been scrapped or pushed to the summer, and Caroline’s baby plans are on indefinite hold. It’s not just the prospect of outgrowing her bridesmaid dresses that’s giving her pause; it’s anxiety about being pregnant and vulnerable during a health crisis, the likelihood of missing out on important milestones and uncertainty about being able to access safe childcare upon returning to work.
