My Journey to Motherhood (Pregnancy and Birth of My Son)

In May 2010, I found out I was 6 weeks pregnant and I felt an array of emotions. I was nervous, anxious, excited and somewhat confused. I really did not know what to expect because it was my first time being pregnant. After I attended my first appointment to confirm my pregnancy, I began to get more excited and less nervous. I began preparing for my new journey to motherhood and I began eating healthier, getting the proper rest I needed and taking my prenatal vitamins. When I was about 8 weeks pregnant, I went to my OB/GYN to get my first trimester testing done. Confident that everything was fine, since things seemed to have went well for my initial appointment, I received a phone call that I needed to the doctor’s office to discuss my test results. My heart began to race and I instantly began to think that this cannot be good. I was so confused and I was trying figure out what could be the issue. I thought everything was fine with my baby. I started changing my eating habits, taking my prenatal vitamins and doing all the “right” things I am supposed to do while pregnant and for the life of me I could not understand how something could be wrong. When I got to the doctor’s office, they explained my test results and they said my baby tested high for Down syndrome and that I have been exposed to Parvovirus and I was considered a high risk pregnancy. I was in total shock. I was very confused as to how that was so, and then I thought “what in the world is Parvovirus and how was I exposed to it.” I had to have asked the doctor a billion and one questions that day and even still after that I was still lost and confused.

The doctor explained that in order to confirm whether or not my son will have Down syndrome I could either get a CVS when I am 10 weeks pregnant or I could wait until I am 15 weeks to get an Amniocentesis. I asked what is the difference between the test and the doctor explained that the Amniocentesis have a more accurate result but it carries a high risk of preterm labor and a small risk of miscarriage. I was so scared that it was a possibility I could lose my baby trying to get this test done, but I knew I needed to get one of them done to find out about the Down syndrome so I opted for the Amniocenteses.  When I reached 15 weeks, I got the Amino done. To my surprise, the test came back negative and I was over joyed. The test also confirmed that I was pregnant with a baby boy and I was even more excited. That joy was short lived because three days after the Amino, I had to go to the Center for Advance Fetal Care at University of Maryland Medical Center to find out about the Parvovirus. Still a bit confused about what Parvovirus was and how I have been “exposed” to it and most importantly how it is affecting my unborn son, I went to the center to find out more information. When I got there, the sonographer did an ultra sound to check on my son. The sonographer kept looking at the screen and she had a fearful look on her face. I started to get very scared and immediately I thought “Could I be losing my baby?” The sonographer left out of the room and went to get the doctor and a few other staff members. The doctor checked the ultra sound and he too had a fearful look on his face. I started to cry and I asked “What is going on? Is he alright?” The doctors turned to me and said he has to get an emergency blood transfusion. I said “What? Why?” The doctor replied that my son is severely anemic and he is not producing any red blood cells on his own and he has to get a blood transfusion immediately for him to survive. I was devastated to hear that my son’s life was in jeopardy. Immediately I was being prepped for the transfusion and within two hours the procedure was performed.

Thankfully, the transfusion was done because if I would have waited another day then the likelihood of my son surviving was very slim. Shortly after the transfusion, I was whisked away to the labor and delivery unit because I started to have contractions and the doctors thought I was going into preterm labor. Only 16 weeks pregnant going into preterm labor was fatal for my son. The doctors were able to stop the contractions in time and thank God my son life was saved!  A week later I had to go back to the hospital because my son needed to get yet another blood transfusion since the first one did not take. This time the doctors gave me some steroids to help my son’s lungs and other organs get stronger just in case I went into preterm labor. Luckily, that time the transfusion was successful and I did not have any complications afterwards.

As the weeks progressed in my pregnancy, I was closely monitored and I went to the Center for Advanced Fetal Care for 4 days out of week until I was 8months. When I was 37 weeks, I had to go to the hospital for monitoring for 6 days out of the week. The whole staff knew me personally because they saw me almost every day. On Jan. 19, 2011, I went to the hospital for what I thought would be my normal monitoring checks, but that was not the case on this day. The sonographer had a fearful look on her face, again, and she ran out the room to get the doctors and other staff, again. All I can say was “Lord, please let my baby come out alive.” The doctors said to me, “We have to take you to labor and delivery now because things are not looking good.” I was devastated yet again but hopeful since my due date was Jan. 21. I was praying my whole time getting prepped. The doctors gave me Pitocin to induce my labor. The doctors had to break my water and I got an epidural at 4cm. About 5:45am I started to feel sharp pains in my abdomen and I thought I had to do #2. The nurse said if I did then just go in the bed pan. I started to push but nothing came out so I laid back down. Then I felt the sharp pain again and I was getting upset since nothing was coming out. So the nurse checked my cervix and I was fully dilated. She immediately got the doctor since apparently I was in active labor when I thought I had to go do #2. At this time it was 6:05am, the nurse was telling me how to push when I feel the contraction. I had one leg in the stirrup and one leg still on the bed, I felt a contraction coming and I pushed. The nurse said the baby is crowning and I screamed “What?” My doctor barely had her gown on and just slipped on her gloves. The next contraction I pushed again and at 6:13am on Jan. 20, 2011, Tristan Skylar Tyson-Robinson was born.

             When I heard my son cry for the first time my heart skipped a beat and my eyes teared up with joy. After a tumultuous pregnancy and a quick delivery my son was finally here. The doctors allowed me to get one kiss before whisking him away to the NICU. It took about 8 hours before I could see him again because they had to run a few test. When I was able to see him, the only thing I could do was cry. It was tears of joy, relief, anxiety and nervousness. I was also a bit upset because I could not hold him and I could only touch him through the glass crib. I could hardly sleep the first night at the hospital although the nurses said I should get all the sleep I could get. All I did was think about the well-being of my newborn. The next morning, the doctor came with the test results and the results revealed that my son had a heart condition and a kidney issue. I was at a loss for words and all I could do was pray and thank God that he was alive. I knew that after the rough pregnancy I had it was a strong possibility that my son would have some health challenges and I was mentally prepared to take on whatever challenges it might be. With my faith deep rooted in God and great healthcare, today I am a proud mother of a healthy, active and precocious soon to be five year old little boy. I am so blessed to have him as my son.