I had to wait for 11 days to hold my newborn, it was heartbreaking: Hari Teja

An experience that is supposed to be the most joyful one turned out to be a traumatic one for Hari Teja. Just a week before she was to give birth to her baby girl, the actress tested

positive

for COVID-19, turning her world upside down. “I was due to give birth on April 7 and I tested positive for

COVID

on March 31. When I first saw that I was COVID positive, my heart stopped for a minute. When you’re pregnant, even a small cough or fever will get you alarmed because you don’t know how it might affect the baby. But to think there was this virus inside me which might impact the baby was too much for me to take. I went into depression,” says Hari Teja.

“This virus is still very new and there’s not enough medical research done on how it impacts pregnant women. What if the baby is born with the virus? Will my baby surive? I was grappling with such questions but unfortunately, there were no clear answers. I was only praying that the baby is born healthy, no matter what happens to me. The doctors advised me that fluctuating blood pressure is not good for the child, so I had to muster all my strength to stay positive.”

To make matters worse, Hari Teja’s parents had also tested COVID positive. “All of us except Deepu (

Deepak Rao

, husband) had tested positive for the virus. My parents got it first and at the time, I was upset that they won’t be there for my delivery. But then I found out that I too had tested positive and everything changed from then on. My main focus became the health of my baby. I had mild symptoms but more than the physical part of it, my COVID diagnosis took a toll on me mentally,” she says.

On April 5, Hari Teja gave birth to a baby girl in an emergency C-section procedure, while she was staying in a COVID ward. Although the baby tested negative for COVID, a new challenge awaited Hari Teja. “The baby was taken away from me as soon as she was born. While I was relieved that my child was born healthy, staying in isolation was the hardest thing I’ve ever faced,” says Hari Teja, adding, “I spent 11 days in isolation, away from my baby. I would constantly look at her through video call but it just wasn’t the same. The child was inside me for nine months and I was missing out on her first moments in this world — it was heartbreaking. It was the little things, like wanting to see how tiny her fingers and toes are or simply touching the baby and comfort her. I wasn’t able to breastfeed her either. Sometimes I would hear her crying when others were holding her and my first urge was to rush outside, hold her and comfort her. I had to stay strong and work really hard to curb those instincts.”

On April 16, eleven days after giving birth, Hari Teja tested negative for COVID and held her daughter for the first time. “There are no words to describe that feeling. In one moment, all the struggles and pains of the past few weeks vanished. It was magical. All those days I spent in isolation, away from my child, the only thing that kept me going was that it was only a matter of days before I can hold the baby in arms.”

Despite going through the most challenging phase of her life, Hari Teja says she has taken a lot of positives from her experience. “My husband was by my side throughout. Although he had tested negative, he stayed with me all the time and comforted me. Had it not been for his support, I wouldn’t have been able to get through this. Our relationship and bond grew even stronger during this phase,” she says, adding, “I was put in a situation where I had no option but to stay strong and fight and this crisis has shown that you have to accept reality, find the strength within you and go forward. Being isolated from your newborn is the hardest thing ever, so I urge all pregnant women to be extra cautious, follow all COVID protocols and stay safe.”