Udhita Roy, who is 18 weeks pregnant, says she has no plans to leave her house due to the risks.

"I am locked down in my house because I'm so worried. My husband and I are the only two people staying in this house at the moment," Ms Roy said.

"I did not do any parties in the new year. I did not enjoy my Christmas. I did not go anywhere. I am locked down in the house because I just don't want to get this Omicron variant. I don't want my baby to be exposed to the new variant, and when I'm hearing more than 900 cases each day there's no way I'm going anywhere."

Ms Roy has been increasingly anxious about the facilities Canberra offers for pregnancy, saying the capital has "very limited hospitals, and Calvary Hospital does not offer the specialised facilities that Canberra Hospital does".

"I'm currently on the wait list for Canberra Hospital, because I wanted a private room for aftercare which Calvary doesn't offer," Ms Roy said.

"They only have shared rooms, which I don't want my baby to be exposed to because of COVID.

"Also if something goes wrong while I'm at Calvary, they will refer me to Canberra Hospital in the middle of me giving birth.

"Imagine being in the middle of labour and I have a complication; the idea of being put into an ambulance and sent to another hospital while having a birthing problem is a really stressful situation."

The pre-pregnancy program has also been particularly difficult during the surge of COVID cases, with Ms Roy saying she is yet to have her first face-to-face interaction with a midwife.

"Calvary gives you a new midwife to speak with each time you call, so there's no consistency. It's really difficult for me because I'm a woman who is not from an English [language] background, and I don't know much about medical terms, and it's my first time being pregnant so I'm really anxious," she said.

READ MORE:

Counsellor Lisa Anderson, who is a Mothercraft board member and Parentline volunteer, has found expectant mothers from the Canberra community are increasingly anxious about the pandemic.

"I've noticed that most anxiety of expecting mothers is what they can and can't control, such as hospitals with visitor restrictions or the uncertainty of what the birthing experience is going to look like during changing conditions of the pandemic," Ms Anderson said.

"We've had to push back our mothers group from meeting because there is just too much uncertainty for the mums, and we want to keep them safe - which is really hard because they're really reaching out for connection."

ACT Health said public hospitals prioritise the health and wellbeing of pregnant women, their babies and staff, and women giving birth will not be turned away for any reason.

"The ACT has a networked system with Canberra Hospital as the largest public hospital in the region and Calvary Hospital as a general-level hospital. Because of the ACT's population, not all of our hospitals can provide all health services or services at the same level of specialty or acuity," a spokesperson said.

"Calvary Hospital provides care for people with low- to medium-risk pregnancies. If someone is receiving antenatal care at Calvary and needs services the hospital cannot provide, they are referred to Canberra Hospital."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: