英语访谈节目:疫情期间的新任妈妈

Hari Sreenivasan: Across the country, this Mother's Day is perhaps being celebrated in ways never done before. Back in March, Christina Lewis Halpern shared her experience about giving birth to her third child, in New York City — the epicenter of the pandemic. NewsHour Weekend Special Correspondent Karla Murthy checked back in to see how she's doing this Mother's Day with her new daughter.

Karla Murthy: When we last spoke. Macy was 2 days old!

Christina Lewis Halpern: Yeah, oh my gosh. Well Macy is 6 weeks and three days old. And she's grown a ton. She's great! Things are – you know things have been good overall.
Karla Murthy: I've heard that a lot of new parents have been reluctant to bring their babies in to see the doctor for check-ups. What has been your experience?

Christina Lewis Halpern: We took – we took Macy to the doctor. We were just very careful. But we have to trust that they know what they are doing. And all the doctors now have new protocols. I didn't even touch anything. I didn't open a door. They did a survey electronically so I didn't have to touch paper or their pens. I suppose I did have to hand them over my credit card. But it was nearly contactless. But we did do telemedicine. She had a rash. So we called our doctor in the city and held her up to the screen and he told us what to do. And the rash went away!
 

Karla Murthy: How has the idea of motherhood changed now – now that we're in this pandemic?

Christina Lewis Halpern: Yeah, it's Mother's Day and I've been thinking that and being a parent and what it means now. So it's always been my job to keep them both physically and emotionally safe right. But now that's become both a lot harder, but also in a way a lot clearer. There's CDC guidance saying what you're supposed to do and what you need to do – to keep everyone safe. And that's what we do. And there isn't any arguing about it. Get that mask on.

Karla Murthy: She has no idea the world that she was just brought in to.
Christina Lewis Halpern: No. She's lived her entire life in lockdown. We talk about that all the time. I think it helps to talk about that one day, this will be – this will be over. And what I'll tell my grandkids and what she'll tell her grandkids, and what a story she'll have. Right? Sometimes I wonder if you know my children and even us will turn into a new greatest generation. I mean, I like to believe that. From great struggles and this collective hardship come – come resilience.