For Aditi Shah*, a 32-year-old city-based IT professional who had been trying to conceive for four years, the lockdown finally brought good news. After starting in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in January, she found out she was pregnant in the last week of March. While she was overjoyed, she couldn't stop herself from over-thinking: her child was going to be born in a world fighting a virus. "I've heard so many things about COVID-19. There are so many patients who are asymptomatic; what if I come across someone like this during check-up?" Shah says, echoing the fears of hundreds of expectant mothers who are trying to navigate pregnancy at a time when mobility is restricted, hospitals are a scary place, and no one can ascertain what lies ahead.

Take time off to bond with the baby