How long would you wait for something you long for deeply? For this mother, it was 12 years.
After fleeing to Malaysia in hopes of a better life, *Shanza desired to add to her little family of four. She and her husband tried for another child and successfully got pregnant.
However during her pregnancy, the refugee mother faced some complications and lost their baby to a stillbirth. The couple tried again and faced the same outcome. This happened a total of four times.
The heartache was unbearable. She felt like a failure.
When we first saw *Shanza at our clinic, she was on her fifth pregnancy but the light in her eyes were dim. She had no hope of holding a healthy baby in her hands.
The pregnant mother had diabetes and was overweight. This, along with the previous medical history of four deaths in the womb, put her and the baby at a high risk once again. We too were worried, but we came up with a regime to help lower her risk factors. We taught her what to eat and what to avoid, how to monitor her sugar levels, and met her regularly for her check-ups.
It was a long 8-months journey with *Shanza and on August 21, 2021, she finally gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
The family was overjoyed.
In the midst of the pandemic, while they did not have much, they threw a homecoming party for their long-awaited baby. *Shanza says, “Thank you so much. I’m so happy.”
Prior to coming to our clinic, *Shanza had not experienced proper antenatal care since coming to Malaysia--the care she needed that could have helped her through her previous pregnancies.
Today, we celebrate with her as the 12-year wait has finally come to an end. We are still journeying with her and baby *Abraham as he gets his vaccinations at our clinic. We love seeing him grow up healthy.
Join us as we continue walking with other mothers like *Shanza in their waiting.
*Name(s) have been changed to protect the identity of the individual.