Member-only story
Maybe I Don’t Need Your Advice, Doctor
I have hopes and dreams for my daughter
I remember when I was pregnant with my daughter and attending antenatal classes, I noted a young couple who kept to themselves, rarely joining in the fun.
I made an effort to greet them each week, but that was as far as our friendship got.
Then we bumped into each other in the hospital the day after delivery and after showing our new babies off, we got talking. She explained that she had been advised in her first trimester to terminate her pregnancy as her little girl would be ‘disabled’, a term she used.
This had come as a great shock to her and her husband as the pregnancy had progressed well, and there was no hint of anything being wrong.
She hadn’t even experienced morning sickness! Lucky girl!
Still, they discussed their options with their respective families and decided to proceed with the pregnancy.
Of course, they were hugely concerned about the outcome and subsequently lived on tenterhooks, but they would not agree to a termination.
Our daughters were born on the same day, one hour apart, each of them perfectly healthy.
All parents are relieved when their children are assessed as healthy, none more…