Coronavirus: First-time dad remotely watches baby’s delivery via Zoom

After struggling through four rounds of IVF, a new dad was forced to watch the birth of his firstborn via Zoom amid the coronavirus crisis.

A mum has revealed she was forced to give birth alone while her partner watched on a video call due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Stephanie Gandelman, 34, from Jersey City, New Jersey, delivered her son Jake two weeks ago while husband Marty, 34, watched on a Zoom call from their sofa, reports The Sun.

The couple, who both struggle with fertility issues, had long-awaited the magical moment – having gone through four rounds of IVF and three miscarriages before the arrival of their baby.

So when the couple learned of coronavirus, Stephanie admitted it only made her more nervous.

Speaking on YouTube, she explained: “I was honestly just waiting for another miscarriage to happen, I was just terrified that this pregnancy wasn’t going to end with me having a baby.”

Stephanie began quarantine two weeks before her due date and with social distancing restrictions in place, was forced to attend her final doctors appointments and ultrasounds alone.

But it wasn’t until Stephanie decided to be induced at 39 weeks that the reality of how alone she would really be sunk in.

Four days before her induction, the couple received an email from their doctor explaining that spouses were not permitted to attend labour, delivery or post-partum.

But while the news left Marty “really sad”, Stephanie admitted that they were just focused on bringing a healthy baby into the world.

She continued: “In all honesty as long as my baby was safe that was all I kept thinking about, of course it saddened me that he wasn’t going to be there but it wasn’t the end of the world.”

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Left with a to-do list, Marty dropped Stephanie off at the hospital, kissing her goodbye before driving back home again.

Once she was settled in the labour ward Stephanie, who had to wear a mask throughout her stay, then set Marty up on a Zoom call, dubbing him her “robot husband.”

Stephanie was induced on March 27 and Marty watched on a laptop screen as his son came into the world.

His birth was not an easy one, with doctors forced to use forceps to deliver the boy, but Stephanie was delighted as doctors told her “he’s perfect.”

Marty came to collect his wife and son from the Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, where he instantly went into “dad mode.”

Speaking to the Metro, he said: “When I finally met Jake it was such a great feeling. ‘I gave him and kiss and a cuddle and then drove home to isolate away from everything.

“It’s just the three of us at home and we haven’t had any visitors yet because of coronavirus.”

The couple have been unable to introduce their son to their parents, which has been “hard”, but they say they are loving family life.

Stephanie told the Metro: “It wasn’t the perfect labour but we made it work. It feels perfect now to be home as a little family.”

This article was first published on The Sun and is reproduced here with permission