<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Alisha Burns had only just given birth as a solo-by-choice mother when the metaphorical steel gates around </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/melbourne" rel="" target="_blank" title="Melbourne"><span>Melbourne</span></a><span> slammed shut in 2020.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Victoria mum was suddenly faced with isolation and a newborn to look after without any support network around her.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She's among the countless pandemic mums who raised babies under one of the toughest lockdowns in the world.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Tomorrow marks five years since the World Health Organisation (WHO) officially declared </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/coronavirus" rel="" target="_blank" title="COVID-19"><span>COVID-19</span></a><span> a pandemic, Burns has had a lot of time to reflect.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She told 9news.com.au the pandemic was tough, but it gave her moments with her daughter she may never have experienced.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I actually think the pandemic was one of the best things that happened to me," Burns said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was forced to actually really slow down, rest, recover and just enjoy this little newborn."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/covid-19-five-years-on-how-two-melbourne-mothers-coped-during-longest-lockdown/c37bf353-39ba-4307-b971-484df2b4481e" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There was no pressure to have a clean house, no pressure to leave or see anyone or do anything at all."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While Burns didn't have the support of her mother, who stayed in New Zealand, or any other immediate family, she was warmed by an online community of other single parents.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She doesn't regret falling pregnant during such a turbulent time.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I just wanted to have a baby," she added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For fellow Melbourne mum Emilia Rossi, though, her time in lockdown felt like a prison.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She had a toddler to wrangle, along with her newborn daughter Olympia, which she said left her feeling "despaired".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was more than just loneliness – it was an overwhelming sense of desperation," Rossi said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I had a strong support system in my husband, family, and a fantastic doctor, yet despite all of that, I still experienced minor postpartum depression while juggling the demands of a newborn and a toddler."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rossi said she is lucky her husband was a great support during her early bout of postpartum depression.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But motherhood, combined with the shock of a global crisis, made for a painful hormonal cocktail.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was the worst feeling I have ever experienced. I cried for no reason," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was physically present but mentally checked out. I felt like a zombie."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Burns, meanwhile, did experience the pitfalls of limited access to paediatric support.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her daughter Alexandra had a delayed diagnosis of hip dysplasia because of Melbourne's tough restrictions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She was in the brace and then the cast for quite a long time," Burns said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Potentially it wouldn't have gotten to the stage of needing a cast had she been diagnosed earlier."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Thankfully, now five years have gone by, Rossi said her kids – and herself – are doing just fine.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They are happy, healthy, and thriving," she said happily.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Samantha Page, chief executive of Early Childhood Australia, told 9news.com.au the initial impact on early childhood development during the pandemic can't be ignored.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While it was certainly positive for family bonding, Page said, it deprived many kids of important social experiences.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We know how beneficial, really good quality early years experiences can be, and particularly those opportunities to play with other children and to engage in rich learning experiences," Page said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It can make it more difficult for children to feel confident and happy in environments with early childhood teachers."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Page said children unconsciously absorb their parent's emotions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The trauma caused by the pandemic and lockdowns may also be felt by children, she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Children sense that anxiety, but they don't know what it's about," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As for the parents, Page also understands how both Rossi and Burns would have such polar opposite experiences.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The pandemic affected different people in different ways," Page said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Some parents would've sailed through it and had a lovely bonding opportunity with, but other parents might have found it really hard to be cut off from that social support." </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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