Alex Morgan Says She's 'Scared' of Delivering Daughter Without Husband amid Coronavirus Outbreak
Alex Morgan is just weeks away from welcoming her baby girl.
However, the soccer star’s due date comes amid the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, posing some unprecedented situations for hospitals and expecting mothers.
In a new tell-all interview with Glamour magazine, Morgan opened up about her pregnancy and the possibility of having to deliver her first child without her husband, Servando Carrasco, by her side.
“That definitely scared me,” the 30-year-old says of hearing that some hospitals are barring pregnant women from having partners in the delivery room as a way to combat the spread of the virus.
She adds, “I wouldn’t feel comfortable delivering without my husband or my doula, but especially my husband.”
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Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Servando Carrasco and Alex Morgan
Her original plan was to have a natural birth, explaining to the outlet that she’s “gone through a lot of major sports injuries and endured a lot of pain,” believing that she “should be able to give birth without numbing my body.”
“But nothing is going to be like childbirth,” the U.S. women’s national soccer team forward admits. “I feel like if I don’t experience that, then I’ll never really know what I can do, what I’m capable of.”
Yet, now the mom-to-be is being forced to reconsider her birth plans due to the pandemic, saying that delivering in a hospital would come down to whether or not Carrasco could be in the room.
“That has been a big discussion with my husband, with my mom, with my team of care — What do I do?” she says, adding, “I would love to give birth at home and have such an intense but beautiful moment of life there.”
Alex Morgan
Despite the uncertainty, Morgan is excited to meet her baby girl, and is happy to have more time with her now that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been pushed back to 2021.
“There are a hundred things that have been going through my mind,” she tells Glamour. “Now I have more time to deal, and I’ll have more time with my daughter without the endless questions.”
She continues, “I can figure it out with a little more calm and a little more clarity. I have to look to the positives.”
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A post shared by Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) on Oct 23, 2019 at 12:18pm PDT
“Casual fans of the game were just like, ‘Why would she do something like that during the peak of her career?’ ” she recalls of the reactions people had when finding out she got pregnant right before the Olympics.
“It’s not like women can’t do both — our bodies are incredible — it’s the fact that this world isn’t really set up for women to thrive,” Morgan adds. “That was one thing where I was like, ‘Do I want to be public with this?’ This is my body, my family, my life.”
Morgan hopes that her experience as a female athlete and mother inspires women, and shows them that they are capable of having a family and ambition.
“I want to be open about my journey because I want women to feel like they don’t have to choose one or the other,” she says. “The more female athletes that are moms in their career, the bette — from Allyson Felix to Serena Williams to my teammate Sydney Leroux. The more challenged the system, the more it will change.”
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