Kalli

Age at interview: 37

Kalli is 37 years old and lives with her husband and two sons (aged 3 and 20 months) at the time of the interview. Before she became pregnant, Kalli and husband had moved to the outskirts of a big city to have more space.

Kalli and her husband had tried for several years to get pregnant and had just started fertility treatments when she became pregnant without assistance. Her first child was born just before the COVID pandemic period and the second arrived 18 months later during COVID. At that time Kalli and the kids were relatively isolated in part because Kalli and husband had only one car, so she was rarely able to get out of the house when her husband was working. At the same time, she received valuable help from her mother, who was unable to work during COVID, and came 4 days/week to help with the baby. In hindsight Kalli realizes now that she was not prepared for the feelings she experienced of not being heard and she thinks that these feelings might have contributed to increased anxiety. In addition, she feels that mental health issues during pregnancy have not been given the importance that they ought to be given. To her, a potential solution could be that people are assessed for mental health issues during the usual six-week follow-up visit with their primary care team. Kalli is hopeful that her province will soon reduce childcare costs resulting in some financial space to pay for other recreational or support programs such as a gym membership. Exercise has been a helpful strategy for coping with her stress and anxiety. She also hopes that she will feel better when she has a bit more time on her hands when her children go to a daycare closer to their home and with increased support from her husband.

 

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