The Wannabe Parents
I have always wanted to be a mum....I want to experience how it is to carry such precious child in my womb....feeling those gentle kicks and punches...but not all are given such great opportunity. At my age, and my husband's age, we are racing against time and against gravity. We were both anxious about the what ifs. The older we become, the more chances of having a baby with different medical conditions --down syndrome, autism are just two of these scary things. According to researches, when we get older, the quality of eggs and sperms we produced are not really good not to mention the study on the risks of miscarriages (which is about 20% for those above 35), placenta previa (a painless bleeding in the third semester of which average risk of developing this condition during pregnancy is 1 in 200) which can cause hemorrhage that can be life threatening to the mother and the infertility issues. IVF is out of the question since aside from it being so expensive, the success rate varies depending on the age of the woman. Note the percentage below.
* 29.6% for women under 35 years old;
* 23.6% for women aged 35 - 37 years old;
* 18.2% for women aged 38 - 39 years old;
* 10.0% for women aged 40 - 42 years old;
* 3.2% for women aged 43 - 44 years old;
* 0.8% for women aged over 44 years.
(http://www.ivfcost.net)
Since I belong to the 40-42 years old, the chances of success rate would just be 10%. For this reason, I might kiss goodbye to my over AU$7000. Good thing though, here in Australia, there is such thing as Medicare rebate of which a part of your expenses would be returned to you...around AU$5000. So you see, the what ifs are so gigantic in our minds when we were planning to have babies.
My husband asked me before I got pregnant with my older daughter, "What if we are not given the chance to be parents? What would you feel?" I would often answer him with another question, "How would you feel if it is just going to be me and you?" He would always tell me, "as long as we have each other, we will still be happy and we will grow old together." I think I would say yes each time but in my mind and in my heart, I can never feel complete if I don't get pregnant. It was a roller coaster ride with me...with all my emotions. Each time my period would come, oh dear, I would really cry and my heart was broken into pieces...but my husband stuck by be all those times. He would always tell me that there would be a next time and that maybe I should stop stressing about it...thinking too much about it. That's what my mother and my mother in law would tell me too. That's how wonderful my husband is and our families on both sides.
My husband and I started researching more about getting pregnant...the things we need to do...the vitamins we need to take. He went home one time with this big bottle of folic acid. He said he found out the folic acids are good for someone who wants to get pregnant and so I took them everyday religiously. He also bought fruits and veggies that are rich in folic acids - papaya, brocolli, peas, grapes, and some wholemeal products.
We both prayed a lot too. My principal at Miriam College - GS in the Philippines, Ms. Gail, gave me this wonderful prayer booklet which has a beautiful prayer for someone who wants to get pregnant. It's a novena that I did for 9 consecutive nights. I am a Catholic. I believe in the bible passage - ask and you shall receive and knock and it shall be opened.
Everything paid off...I got pregnant!!!! That of course will be another story...
* 29.6% for women under 35 years old;
* 23.6% for women aged 35 - 37 years old;
* 18.2% for women aged 38 - 39 years old;
* 10.0% for women aged 40 - 42 years old;
* 3.2% for women aged 43 - 44 years old;
* 0.8% for women aged over 44 years.
(http://www.ivfcost.net)
Since I belong to the 40-42 years old, the chances of success rate would just be 10%. For this reason, I might kiss goodbye to my over AU$7000. Good thing though, here in Australia, there is such thing as Medicare rebate of which a part of your expenses would be returned to you...around AU$5000. So you see, the what ifs are so gigantic in our minds when we were planning to have babies.
My husband asked me before I got pregnant with my older daughter, "What if we are not given the chance to be parents? What would you feel?" I would often answer him with another question, "How would you feel if it is just going to be me and you?" He would always tell me, "as long as we have each other, we will still be happy and we will grow old together." I think I would say yes each time but in my mind and in my heart, I can never feel complete if I don't get pregnant. It was a roller coaster ride with me...with all my emotions. Each time my period would come, oh dear, I would really cry and my heart was broken into pieces...but my husband stuck by be all those times. He would always tell me that there would be a next time and that maybe I should stop stressing about it...thinking too much about it. That's what my mother and my mother in law would tell me too. That's how wonderful my husband is and our families on both sides.
My husband and I started researching more about getting pregnant...the things we need to do...the vitamins we need to take. He went home one time with this big bottle of folic acid. He said he found out the folic acids are good for someone who wants to get pregnant and so I took them everyday religiously. He also bought fruits and veggies that are rich in folic acids - papaya, brocolli, peas, grapes, and some wholemeal products.
We both prayed a lot too. My principal at Miriam College - GS in the Philippines, Ms. Gail, gave me this wonderful prayer booklet which has a beautiful prayer for someone who wants to get pregnant. It's a novena that I did for 9 consecutive nights. I am a Catholic. I believe in the bible passage - ask and you shall receive and knock and it shall be opened.
Everything paid off...I got pregnant!!!! That of course will be another story...
