Pregnant Teacher On Bedrest Teaches From Hospital Room

Sep 04, 2020 by apost team

Janet Udomratsak is a third-grade teacher who is about to have a baby. In the middle of the 2020 pandemic, she's going back to school - but this time, it's from a hospital bed.

According to Janet Udomratsak, who is called Mrs. O by her third-grade students, the first few weeks of the school year are irreplaceable. As she explains, "In the beginning of the school year, that’s when you build your relationship with your students, and I didn’t want to miss that opportunity.”

The 2020-2021 school year is being conducted entirely online in all communities that are capable of establishing a quarantine. Janet Udomratsak lives in just one of these communities, so she's interacting with her students in a virtual classroom.

apost.com

Mrs. O's online classroom is both professional and approachable. If you just look from the perspective of a student, you'd have no idea where she actually is. As Twitter user @jenquatrucci explains:

"Some of the first things Janet Udomratsak’s students see when they join the class every day through Zoom are a welcome sign, calendar, and whiteboard, but what they don’t see, just steps away, is a hospital bed. https://t.co/xkyBPG6T0m #TeacherStrong"

The truth is that Mrs. O isn't working from the school, but she isn't working from home, either. Janet is actually teaching from her local hospital, where she plans to stay until the end of her pregnancy.

This is Janet's second pregnancy, and she's in the third trimester. Unfortunately, her doctors have predicted several complications. To make sure that the baby is delivered safely, Janet has been ordered to stay on bed rest and is under constant supervision.

As reported by CBS, the doctors who are taking care of Janet Udomratsak are committed to making her pregnancy as smooth as possible. They understand that Janet doesn't really have the option to quit teaching, so they've taken steps to respect her space during the workday. Her main doctor, Kathryn Wright, gives a look into the process:

“I just review all of her monitoring on the computer, and then, I come in and talk to her once a day or whoever the rounding doctor is. We all kind of know that she’s teaching and doing her thing, and we try to stay out of her way, except for when we have to come in and do the monitoring we need to do.”

The situation seems to be working out well for Janet, who is acting as if she's run a virtual classroom for her entire life. "Honestly, being in the hospital to me, in this setting, almost feels no different than if I were at home. The only difference is that yes, I am in the hospital.”

A pregnant woman on bed rest shouldn't be forced to work under any circumstances. When you add the dangers and stresses of a pandemic into the mix, it's a miracle that Janet Udomratsak is even able to teach right now. But despite the difficulty, Mrs. O is still right there for her students.

“My love of teaching, for the kids and building that relationship is so much stronger than me just wanting to sit and do nothing. Obviously, that would be the life: to just take it all in and relax and not have to work. I would love doing that, but my desire is to be with the students,” Janet explained.

“It’s something that is new for all of us, and I want to show them that I am there with them. The struggle is real for me as a teacher, it’s real for them as the students and really, that we are all in it together."

So when is Janet going to go home? Her plan is to stay in the hospital until the baby is born. The little one is due on October 20th, but she could deliver anytime in the next few weeks. "I plan on teaching up until the doctors tell me to take leave," she says proudly.

Janet doesn't have the option to stop teaching, so it's good that she has found an acceptable workaround. Luckily, her students are eager to learn, and both the doctors and her family are able to support her.

What do you think of Janet's story? Let us know, and remember to post this article for all of your friends.