The global pandemic may have brought most things in New Zealand to a grinding halt overnight, but it hasn't slowed down the number of babies arriving each day.

Twenty-four babies have been born in the Southern District since the country went into a level 4 lockdown last Wednesday and, in the early hours of yesterday morning, baby Trinity was one of these babies, who joined the world "happy and healthy" amidst the chaos of COVID-19. 

 "She just missed April fool’s day!" said her mother Jo Stephens, who is rapt to have her new daughter safely back at home in their bubble. 

Mrs Stephens said she counts herself very lucky that everything went smoothly, and she didn't have to go through the process all alone. 

Originally the plan was for the children's grandfather to look after Mrs Stephen's two other children Amira 4, and Tasman, 2 while Mrs Stephens and her husband Nigel went to the hospital to deliver the baby.

But as the grandfather is over 60 and immune-compromised, he could not safely look after the children, meaning either they had to find someone who could safely look after their children or Mrs Stephenson would have to give birth without her husband there.

Luckily one of Mrs Stephens' good friends offered to break her bubble, as none of her own family was showing symptoms of COVID-19, and look after Mrs Stephens’, two young daughters.

"I was so grateful... I don't think I would have been able to do it without him [Mr Stephens] there," she said. 

She said her anxiety levels were high as she walked into the hospital at 9pm on Wednesday evening.

"It was daunting walking in," she said as she described the walls of the maternity ward being "covered in plastic with zips" which had set up to keep surfaces clean in a response to COVID-19. 

Everyone who enters the hospital must be "screened" first, where they are asked a series of questions to make sure they don't have any symptoms of COVID-19. 

The maternity ward at Southland Hospital has been divided into two sections. The 'red zone' and the 'green zone'.

"I was in the green zone" said Mrs Stephens, which is for mothers who aren't suspected of having the virus. 

The red zone is for mothers who have COVID-19 or are suspected of having it. 

"The red zone had to be blocked off... I didn't see anyone in there, but it has been set up as a precaution" she said. 

Mrs Stephens said only one friend or family member was allowed to accompany mothers into the hospital and they must stay in their delivery room the whole time. This is to limit the potential spread of the virus. 

"You can't walk around or go into the parents’ room; you have to stay in the room and they [hospital staff] come in to give you food."

Lead Maternity Carer and chair of the Southland region of the New Zealand College of Midwives Natasha Baillie said this was essential for keeping mothers and babies safe. 

"They could be coming and going, visiting the supermarket or their home and there might be an increased risk of exposure to COVID-19... so they must stay in the room or if they leave, they can't come back in."

Mrs Stephens said the lengths the hospital had gone to keep patients safe seemed and felt like a lot initially but it made her feel very comforted in the fact they were doing everything they caould to keep mothers and their new born babies safe. 

"The staff there are doing well... I'd like to give a big thank you to the staff at the hospital, my amazing midwife Bernie Archer and one of my best friends, Leigh-Ann Bogle for taking care of my kids."

Ms Baillie said the midwives in the region wanted to assure women that although the way some services were being delivered had changed, "the same care for women is there".

She said more PPE (Personal Protective Gear) would be distributed in the coming weeks so mothers should expect to see an increase in the use of PPE gear in the coming weeks. 

She said there had been no cases of pregnant women with COVID-19 in Southland yet, but they were taking every precaution to make sure they were well prepared should that event occur. 

She also said the hospital had been prepared to manage "an influx" of COVID-19 patients safely alongside other patients.

And if the lockdown is extended past four weeks, then she said midwives would start doing more video calling with mums instead of in-house visits to limit the potential spread of the virus.