by Jennifer Moll

Created on: May 18, 2008

I never thought having a premature baby would happen to me. It surely wouldn't happen to me because I did everything the doctor asked me to do. I took my vitamins, I went to every prenatal visit, ate well, and got enough sleep. I never envisioned Andrew being born at twenty-six weeks, weighing one pound two ounces, ten and a half inches long and now had to fight just to survive.

Everything changed at my fourth month check-up. My doctor told me she didn't think my baby was growing at the proper rate. This was cause for concern at this point and I was instructed to get an ultra-sound II as well as genetic counseling. I immediately set up both appointments even though I felt my doctor was wrong.

When I went for my ultra-sound appointment I was required to speak with a genetic counselor first. I can remember the awful pictures she was painting for my husband and me. Any known disease, my baby had a chance of having. Some I never even heard of. My husband and I were so upset to learn these possibilities. I asked the counselor why we were even discussing these possibilities; I was here for further testing. I just wanted to see what the test results showed and go from there. If my baby did in fact suffer from one of these diseases, then we could decide on the best approach at that time. I was taken back when the counselor suggested an abortion! I couldn't believe my ears and at that moment I lost respect for her. Was a medical professional really suggesting I abort my pregnancy just because my baby may be born with a disease? The best part of all this was that I didn't even have any testing done yet to see if this was in fact the case.

After I had a few minutes to process what she has just suggested to me, I looked at my husband and stood up from the chair. I told the counselor that this meeting was over and I would not abort my pregnancy. If in fact my baby did have a handicap or disease, we would deal with it. I just could not kill my baby. I then left her office and waited in the waiting room to have my ultra-sound.

While I was having the ultra-sound, I knew something wasn't right because the technician called another technician in and then the doctor came in. They all were discussing my baby in medical terms that I did not understand. The doctor then turned to me to explain that my baby was very small because he wasn't getting the proper nutrients from the umbilical cord. He then admitted me to the hospital for total bed rest.

At this point, I started to get worried.

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