"You Only Have One?"

April 1999

You only have one? This is a question I’ve often received in response to my experience. Well, let’s dive into that. The journey of carrying a child can be difficult for some, and my pregnancy was no exception. I entered this chapter of my life as the picture of health, but the journey turned out to be confusing and overwhelming.

No, I didn’t experience morning sickness, but I did face a whole new list of pains and unexplained illnesses—things I’d never anticipated. And all of it mysteriously disappeared after I gave birth.

What made my experience even more challenging was that no one else seemed to have gone through what I did. Doctors couldn’t figure it out. My family was bewildered. And the people I turned to for support during that time just brushed me off as a complainer.

I didn’t get to enjoy my pregnancy the way I had hoped. From the fifth month, when complications began, I was terrified of losing my baby. That fear stayed with me until the 22nd hour of labor when the umbilical cord prolapsed.

But in the end, I’m both grateful and exhausted. The moment I saw her, I knew her in a way I hadn’t expected. And if you know her, you’d understand—it’s hard not to love her.