Marley Hall, 39, from Surrey has been receiving hundreds of messages on her social media DMs from pregnant moms requesting for her help during the ongoing pandemic. Since the onset of COVID-19, pregnant moms have had their prenatal appointments cancelled or done virtually. Many pregnant women have issues they need addressing, but most don't know where to turn to for help. Marley had 20,000 followers on Instagram at the beginning of the year, and the numbers have more than tripled from March to 70,000. She initially opened the Instagram account so that she could educate mothers on matters concerning pregnancy, delivery, and parenthood in general.
Mothers flock into her DM to ask questions such as bleeding in pregnancy, abdominal pains during pregnancy, and how to breastfeed well. Many mothers seek her help due to cancellations of their hospital appointments, and some have confessed that what she offers is even more beneficial to the moms than the help their midwives give. Some ask for advice on C-sections and inductions after learning that they would be giving birth alone. The mom of five says that she used to answer every individual question, but it has reached a point where she can't because the number of messages in her DM has become overwhelming.
According to Wales Online, Marley, who is on her maternity leave, could spend the whole day answering various questions from worried pregnant moms. However, she couldn't keep up with the pressure of attending to her five kids, motherly, and wife duties. The NHS and private midwife revealed that there was a time when she could answer questions up to 1 am while in bed, and her partner told her that she couldn't keep on answering the questions during such hours. She had to post a video telling her fans that she couldn't answer all the messages she gets.
One worried 12-year-old girl got in touch with Marley to ask her if she was pregnant because she received her period for only one day, and her friend told her that it could be a sign of pregnancy, even though she had never had sex. The girl turned to Marley after failing to get support, and Marley told her to talk to her mom about her period issue. One mom told Marley that she was worried about her blood pressure, and she was told at the hospital that her next appointment would be at 28 weeks. Marley says that she feels bad for pregnant moms who need help, and she is urging the government to fully open up the maternity services at the hospitals. She also wants the NHS Trust to allow partners to attend the birth of their children.
Sources: ampgoo.com, walesonline.co.uk, ca.sports.yahoo.com.