Coronavirus placing high stress on new, expecting moms and raising risks for mental health issues

On March 31, Andrea Root of Whittier, Calif., gave birth to her first child surrounded by doctors and nurses equipped with thick plastic face shields and multiple face masks who kept their distance, fearful that the 38-year-old was carrying covid-19.

Within moments of her son’s birth, doctors whisked him away into the nearby neonatal intensive care unit — a precautionary measure taken to protect the infant from potentially contracting the novel coronavirus from his mother. Dazed, Root began to sob.