A MIRACLE IN OUR LIFE, by Deepa Surender

Becoming a mother after 8 years of marriage was a dream come true for me. A feeling that I still struggle to express in words.

I find this quote so apt in my case, “Perseverance and determination is the key to success.” After being treated for infertility for about 3 years, I took a break and started yet again only to have 4 failed IUI’s and a failed IVF.  Not the one to give up easily, I went ahead with the 2nd IVF without any expectations and to my absolute joy, it was successful and I became pregnant.

It was a special feeling and I savoured every moment of the pregnancy. At 16 weeks however, the excitement took an awful turn. During my 17th week scan the radiologist found that my baby had a unilateral cleft lip. I went nuts trying to research EVERYTHING. I was shattered and it felt like the whole journey was going to start all over again.  I immediately went for a second opinion and another scan when the radiologist detected a unilateral cleft lip and a cleft palate too. Terminating the pregnancy never crossed our minds at any given point of time. Our biggest and only worry was that our baby will have to go through so much pain. To add to our agony, we had people around suggesting that we terminate the pregnancy and that was the most devastating feeling ever. It was horrifying for me to even imagine termination when I could feel my baby’s tiny kicks from inside of me.

During this traumatic phase, the one person who stood by me asking me not to worry was my husband. He was my greatest strength. He made a big impact on my life especially when I was going through the hardest times, both, mentally and emotionally. My respect for him soared to even greater heights as he did not pay attention to what people said or hesitate after reading about the long term effects.

My parents, siblings and a few good friends also supported us in every possible way and genuinely wished for the well-being of me and my baby. During this phase I also took the tough call to disconnect myself from extended family members as I wanted “my space and my time” to take it all in and decide what to do next. I thought I will be affected emotionally and mentally but the love that I received warmed my heart and pushed me to do better.

The day of the delivery finally arrived. I was thrilled and tensed at the same time. I finally met my little Daksh and was so relieved that he had only a minor unilateral cleft lip. Due to my special circumstances, I took a long time to decide the hospital, the doctors, and surgeon and after the whole experience was very happy about the decision I made in this regard.

I am currently enjoying motherhood to the fullest. Daksh recently underwent a surgery for cleft lip correction and is healing beautifully. I am incredibly thankful to the doctor for an amazing job done.

The intention of coming up with my personal story on The Wonder Women World is to give all the women out there the strength they need. Those who have been trying to conceive for long, those who are giving up hope, though who are nervous and those who are currently undergoing a similar situation as I did. As for me, I have come out of the whole experience much stronger, with the help of my fabulously supportive husband. But I have to say, had I got to meet or read about even one woman who went through something like this during pregnancy – I could have calmed my worries and focused on enjoying my precious pregnancy a bit more than I actually did.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Wonder Women World.