Beijing Bunker: Pregnant in China at the Time of Coronavirus

As Beijing enters its fourth week in self-quarantine, the stories of how people have been dealing with the coronavirus outbreak – by staying, leaving, or watching on from afar – are many and varied. In Beijing Bunker, we quiz Beijingers on what approach they've been taking to stay safe and sane through the ordeal.

With growing concerns around the coronavirus and the disruptions it was making to people's travel and daily life, American expat Ashley Hatcher had a tougher decision than most to make. At 28 weeks pregnant, she had to weigh up whether to fly back home and be stranded indefinitely or stay in Beijing and wait out the virus with her husband, two dogs, and a cat. Here Hatcher tells us what eventually informed her decision, how it had unintended benefits, as well as how she has adapted to working remotely teaching classes at the Beijing International Bilingual Academy.

Would you consider yourself safe, sane, safe and sane, or other? Why?
I think when the news first broke I was definitely not feeling safe or sane. I was consumed by the media and trying to figure out what to do next. My mom had even bought me a plane ticket home at one point and we deliberated for a couple of days. We have two dogs and a cat so leaving them was out of the question which meant my husband would’ve stayed here by himself while I went home. Once I officially decided to stay, I accepted our fate and have calmed down immeasurably.

Has the virus disrupted your travel plans or those of your loved ones?
Fortunately, we were planning on staying in Beijing anyway for Chinese New Year. I’m glad none of our plans got disrupted. However, we know plenty of people that are still displaced. I’m currently 28 weeks pregnant and my mom was supposed to visit in May for the birth of our baby but now I’m not so sure that’s going to happen. 

How have you been spending your time since the outbreak? How has your life changed on account of the situation?
I’ve decided to be more productive with my time at home. I re-started learning Chinese and will be done with HSK 1 by the end of the month. I also workout every day following YouTube videos or playing Just Dance on the Switch. My husband and I have a YouTube channel ourselves so he’s been learning about some more editing techniques and we’ve since had to learn to adapt our style since we’re not going out as much.

Since I am pregnant, we tend to play it safe so my husband does the grocery shopping by himself or he’s the one to go outside to get the deliveries. I mainly go outside to walk our dogs around the compound. Shunyi is not quite as hard hit as the rest of Beijing so I decided to go on a walk to our grocery store this week because the weather was too nice to stay inside.

Has the situation affected your work or business? If so, how?
Yes, I’m a teacher so all my classes are online. Things are constantly changing and we still have no idea when schools will resume so it’s been challenging to say the least. At least my students have been really sweet and our online classes have been going well. I can’t even imagine what it’d be like to be a child and going through this. 

Have there been any unexpected "upsides"?
Is it selfish of me to say yes? I’m entering my third trimester which has definitely slowed me down quite a bit. Now instead of dealing with eight-year-olds all day, I can mostly relax at home which is probably why I’m seeing less of the negative symptoms associated with pregnancy. We’ve also saved a lot of money by not doing much. I’m also thankful it’s just me and my husband stuck in our house. I feel for the single folks or those with young families! 

Which resources (online or real-life) have proved the most useful to you during this time?
Well of course the Beijinger. I’m in the Safe and Sane in Beijing (number 1!) group as well as a China-wide coronavirus group (for coronavirus tips and info, which both only allow for sourced information. We also watch the news (CNN, BBC, CBC) but we’ve since learned to take Western media with a grain of salt. 

What's one thing that you've done that has saved you a lot of hassle/time/insanity?
I’m not sure about anything that has saved me hassle or time but maintaining good exercise habits and keeping a hobby has helped keep me sane. 

What do you most look forward to doing once all of this has blown over?
Normal things. Going outside without worrying about if I’m being cautious enough. Not having to wear a mask everywhere. Going out to dinner with friends, going to work, going to the store. 

READ: "The Benefits of Decluttering and Family Support in Uncertain Times"

Images courtesy of Ashley Hatcher