Estefania Fernandez is a nurse practitioner at the University of California, San Diego, working in the obstetrics and gynecology department.
She graduated from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in 2019, and is now doing her residency in Southern California.
Fernandez said many pregnant women are now looking to give birth as soon as possible, which they believe will reduce the chance of either them or their babies being infected with the virus.
“Normally, after 39 weeks of pregnancy, labor can be induced, but these days we’ve seen patients asking for the procedure even before their time is due,” she said. “I think they are mostly scared of what could happen in the near future.”
Fernandez said hospital personnel have been instructed to change uniforms constantly, as to not take the virus home. But due to the limited inventory of N95 masks, she said they only wear them around people who have been found to be COVID-19 positive or are showing symptoms.
Outside her work, she said life is pretty much as it is for everyone else.
“I can’t go to the gym or hang out with friends, so pretty much the only people I spend time is with the other residents in the hospital,” said Fernandez.
Full disclosure: Fernandez is the writer’s cousin.
