just let the bedbugs bite an a little. ♪ tonight, pregnant in the pandemic. the worry we're all feeling, amplified. bringing life into the world in the very hospitals battling the disease. >> we're parachuting into what feels like a war zone. >> separated from partners. >> the doctor's like hey, we're not sure if you're going to be able to get in. >> even separated from their babies. >> it's like an unending nightmare. >> but ultimately, a bond that cannot be broken by the virus. "nightline," delivering hope, we'll be right back.

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he's going to drop me off. and i'm terrified. >> she's going to be just fine. she can do this. >> when emily sheer found out she was pregnant with her second child. >> day six of self-quarantine. >> she never imagined how dangerous it could be, giving birth in the middle of a global prime minister pandemic in the worse hot zone in the country. >> as our due date nears, it's been pretty nerve-wracking. >> millions of expecting parents

are facing that added risk. >> we're really in uncharted territory and there's so much we don't know about covid-19, especially the effects on pregnant women, newborns and the fetus. >> rare but extreme cases of covid-19 impacting mothers and babies, making headlines. in vancouver, washington, this woman gave birth in a coma while battling the virus. only meeting her daughter two weeks later. >> the world wants to meet you. >> tearful reunions like this one in new york sometimes playing out on sidewalks in front of hospitals. for so many, the crisis is creating fear and confusion. tonight four families bring us inside their journeys to parenthood in this unprecedented time. taking us into the delivery room, through those painful separations and heart-warming reunions. >> you hear daddy? >> hey, zoe. hey, sweet girl.

>> everything that you want to hear when you can't hold your baby. at least they recognize your voice. >> this is our baby girl-to-be's bedroom. >> we started following them a month ago at the heart of the pandemic. >> hello to -- >> baby. >> baby sister. >> right after her hospital and several others in new york city issued a drastic decision. in order to protect patients and staff, no family, no spouse allowed in labor and delivery. what was it like hearing the news that you're going to have to basically go it alone? >> it was devastating hearing that i'd have to do it myself. it's unimaginable to me. >> you're missing out on something, dad, what was that like to realize? >> it's really upsetting. i'm a man who likes to take care of my ladies. i pride myself ne takiin takingf my ladies.

i feel like i'm letting them down. >> what's your biggest fear? >> my biggest fear is in the biggest ho biggest moment of my life i can't make a decision and billy's not there to be part of it, and i don't understand how he could possibly miss out on this moment in our child's life. >> how are you feelin'? it's your due date. >> it is my due date. i feel good. >> carly and steven also felt blindsided after moving from california to new york to have their first child, the policy change coming days before their baby was due. >> it was scary, the idea of him missing that and meeting his kid for the first time on the streets of manhattan. like i want them to be together. i want us all to be together. >> it sucks, but then you start to understand why. because restrictions were put in place. >> carly miraculously found a birthing center that could accept her. >> we're just happy there was an alternate option for us.

>> we did not have a baby shower, unfortunately, because of the pandemic. >> janel and her husband warner are having trouble finding another option. >> we've tried several times. i have called the brook lalyn midwives. all of them have said they're booked. >> janel is well aware of the reality black women already face, higher complication rates and mortality up to three times higher than white women according to the cdc. >> that's the thing that was the number one concern, and now it's not. now it's the pandemic, this vier. >> what's your biggest fear? >> going through this and looking back and seeing how terrified or fearful that i was that i didn't get the chance to really enjoy my wife, my, my, the birth of my child. you only get one first child.

>> all janel, carly and emily can do now is hope, hope for change in policy. hope that no one gets sick. hope that it all works out. this is a scary time to be walking into a hospital in need. >> i've used the metaphor that we're parachuting into what feels like a war sowzone. >> it wouldn't take long for that philosophy to become reality. >> it is march 27, and i'm having a contraction. >> it's go time. we are heading to the hospital. >> he's not coming up with me. he's going to drop me off, and i i'm terrified. >> she's going to be just fine. >> walking out the door, i was definitely upset. it was a scary feeling going into it. >> i just dropped my wife emily off. i was not allowed to go up to the fourth floor. they changed the rules again because i guess it's getting worse. >> he's parked outside.

how are you doing? >> okay. kind of crazy to be on face time on face time. she locked eyes with me when she was pushing those last few pushes through the screen. and all of a sudden the doctor says here you go and plopped the baby right on her, and i just screamed, yeah! i was just happy. i knew my kid was out. i knew she was healthy and my wife was okay, and that's all that mattered to me. >> can i get a little peek? >> yeah, of course. this is sarah. >> hi, sarah. >> she came a couple days early. >> oh, look at that face. >> because hospitals are trying to minimize the risk of exposure, emily is discharged in the middle of the night. >> how was the pickup? >> the security guard looks at me, hands me a big bottle of sanitizer, gives me a couple pumps and says pick up your kid. i picked her up with a mask on

in front of me and i was overjoyed. >> it was 2:00 in the morning. it felt like we were escaping from the hospital in the cloak of night. >> what the reunited family didn't know is that billy missed out by just a matter of hours. new york governor cuomo ordering hospitals to allow one companion in labor and delivery. >> we know that if a pregnant woman, a laboring woman has a support person there, things go better. they go better psychologically, emotionally and in some ways medically. >> messaging our ob. >> carl and steven hear about the order immediately. >> i think we're still apt to stick with the birthing center. >> except the days keep passing, and the baby isn't coming. >> another day, another dog walk. this is a steep curve. >> at 11 days overdue and blood pressure elevated, carly has no choice. she has to be induced at the

hospital. >> so, we just got started on patoesen. >> the precautions were definitely what we expected. full ppe. he was in head to toe, like, gown. they let me intermittently wear mask, as you can imagine, laboring with an n95 is not really possible. the most exciting thing was like, right at 7:00 p.m., they did the cheer for all the health workers and the shift change, and i was pushing him out, like, while that cheer was happening. what do you think, daddy? >> he's beautiful. >> steven got to witness his son joaquin's birth but had to leave just a few hours later. the pandemic forcing hospitals to limit exposure. steven can't come back until mom and baby are discharged, two days from now. janel and warner's experience was similar. >> around 1:20 in the morning.

>> the dams broke. >> yes. and we're off to having a baby! they have to now test me for covid. and then admit me into a room. >> couple leaning on each other during the delivery of daughter aymani. >> are you wearing a mask this entire time? >> yes. during labor i had the mask on. like, when i was pushing i had the mask on. for the most part i had the mask on. when they turned her to me, her eyes were popping out. she was shocked, i was shocked. >> i was shocked. ♪ i really found someone like you ♪ >> when dad, the broadway star, lull byes come with the territory. they're hoping the baby's birth will lift spirits. >> welcome to brooklyn. >> we have friends that have had family members or other friends of theirs die from this virus or

at least be hospitalized. and i know i've gotten texts and calls from people saying, you know, thank you for sending me this, because this has really been a breath of fresh air. >> coming up, when newborn intensive care goes on lockdown. >> it's okay. oh. >> you see daddy? >> one couple's story of faith and grace. the incredible moment of reunification and homecoming. it's time to step up. prep up. step up. prep up. to help keep you free from the risk of hiv. from the makers of truvada, there's another prep option: descovy for prep. a once-daily prescription medicine that helps lower the chances of getting hiv through sex. it's not for everyone. descovy for prep has not been studied in people assigned female at birth. talk to your doctor to find out if it's right for you. step up. for health and body. prep up for your one and only love or many loves. for kings, this queen, and you royals in between. for my now. our now. and my future. our future. step up. prep up. descovy is another way to prep. descovy does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections,

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hi. >> hey, look at you. >> kylie and gerald spend their

whole day waiting for precious moments like this. >> you hear daddy? >> hey, zoe. hey, sweet girl. >> forced to coo at a phone screen instead of holding and cuddling their new twin girls. >> i don't feel like i truly have kids yet, which is really hard. >> that's okay. it's okay. i was just crying too, girlfriend. >> the couple have been separated from their premature babies for weeks, the the the represent ripple effect from covid-19. >> we just finished face timing the babies, how do you feel? >> i feel so bad, they're so cute. >> he's a pastor, she's an after school director. children were always in the plan. >> be careful what you pray for, right? he would didn't know the twins would have a complicated delivery during a virus.

>> he returned from a work trip. >> i started not feeling well, having chills, body aches and a low-grade fever. >> he got tested for covid-19 but results would take goods. kylie had to take the test two too, but at the hospital, the doctor had news. >> as soon as he checked me out, he said babies are coming in an hour or two. i was 33 in four days, and with twins, every single day counts. >> i was on speaker, and i'm immediately, like, i'm coming right now. and the doctor's like, hey, we're not sure if you're going to be able to get in. and i was like, i don't care, i'm coming. >> but his test results weren't back yet, barring him from entering the hospital. kylie had to have an emergency c-section under anesthesia. >> our girls came into the world and neither of us were able to see them or hold them. >> the girls were taken to the nicu.

>> waking up without the babies i had carried for seven and a half months feels like an unending nightmares. >> they named the girls wesley grace and zoe faith. but just days later, as the outbreak spread, intensive care units nationwide started going into lockdown, including the nicu, that meant no visits at all. >> i cried on the nurse's shoulder. she didn't have a mask on. she didn't have gloves, she didn't care. she let me cry on her shoulder and just reassured us that they would be cared for and loving on the girls as much as we would want to if we could go visit them too. >> wesley is finally awake. >> that's when the face time started. the nicu nurses calling gerald and kylie at least two or three time as day. >> you don't like being woken up from your naps, huh? >> then days turned into weeks. >> the nurses, i mean, whether

they're just saying this to reassure a postpartum mom or not, but the nurses say they're looking around and they can hear our voices, which is, it's everything that you want to hear when you can't hold your babies, that at least they recognize our voice. so, so i'm really grateful for that, and for the nurses. >> that bittersweet feeling came to an end easter weekend. >> it's the best i've ever had. >> so when do we get to go? >> easter sunday. >> the lockdown lifted, creating this moment of pure parental joy. >> i'm like nervous. can i touch her? >> of course can you touch her, she's your child. >> hi, baby. i love you so much. >> you want to go see wesley too, babe? >> uh-huh. oh, my goodness.

she's a full-grown adult. hi, wesley. >> hey, wesley. hey, sweet girl. it's day two of us getting to see our girls. kylie just finished feeding wesley. >> oh, my goodness, i never want to leave. >> well, we got like ten minutes. >> well, don't make me move for the next ten minutes. >> the news got even better just a few days later. >> after a little over a month in the nicu we're about to go get kylie and the girls. they're going home today. hi. >> yes, sir. >> are you ready to go? >> yes. >> wesley, what you think about going home, baby girl?

thank you. thank you all so on the way home. >> ah! she's not happy. babe, why are you driving so slow? >> because our girls are in the back seat. they're comin' home. girls, we're home! what do you think about it? part of the only reason that we're telling our story, right? this is hard for our family, but there are nurses and doctors and hospital workers who are literally risking their own lives to take care of our family. more than anything, we're just so grateful for them and the way they've cared for us. able to he.

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sarah, say hi. >> tonight, final thoughts from our families. gratitude to the hospital teams that delivered so much hope into this new world. >> thank you for continuing to put yourself in the line of fire every single day. >> from the doctors to the nurses to those who scrub the floors. >> thank you. thank you. thank you. you are appreciated. >> every 7:00 p.m. since he's been born, we've been pulling out the pots and pans and hooting and hollering. we appreciate them so much for what they did for us personally and what they're doing for our nation to keep us all safe. ♪ ba, da, ba, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da,ba ♪ ♪ jimmy kimmel live! this is ridiculous. >> from his house. >> jimmy: hi, again. i'm jimmy, the host of the show.

greetings to those of you who joined me earlier tonight on who wants to be a millionaire. we are beaming from my house where i spend every minute of my life now. if nothing else, this experience of being cooped up has taught me i would november survive in space, three days into the mission i'd be in the escape pod trying to find a costco on the moon. today is earth day. today is the 50th and final earth day. here in l.a., not long after midnight last night, we got hit with an earthquake. i was in bed. the earth got up early and woke everyone up like a 5-year-old on their birthday today. i will say, it was scary, because the epicenter was close by. it was in town, but it was kind of refreshing to worry about being killed by something else for a change. >> donald trump celebrated with a shovel, the president, the first lady and mike and karen pence gathered