Before I had my second child, I was very nervous, especially when I remembered the ordeal I underwent during the course of my first child. Lots of thoughts crossed my mind; I was mostly concerned about having a sickle cell crisis and being pregnant: I knew the statistics and the accompanying consequences, but I was determined to go ahead with my decision to have another baby. I just had to bring a sibling for my son. Having sickle cell and conceiving is associated with both maternal and fetal complications as well as heightened incidences of perinatal mortality, premature labour, fetal growth restriction, acute painful crises during pregnancy, early caesarean section, maternal mortality and an elevated risk of pre-eclampsia.
I noticed many of these symptoms when I was pregnant with my son. It was so bad that I was hospitalized for four weeks before giving birth to him five weeks early; the thought of this uncertainty and risk left me very worried and scared. However, after a few years passed, I said to myself that there was no way I should put off having another child only because I was afraid. I decided to have a planned pregnancy where I would be able to work with my doctors from the very beginning to see me through the entire journey.
My second pregnancy, like the first one, started off great, with very little morning sickness, I was eating well and all my observations were always perfect, even the monthly scan of the fetus was great. My baby was growing well and all her measurements were on the right track. My medical teams were fantastic and used to see me on a monthly basis to ensure that I was doing well, physically and mentally. I was seen on a monthly basis by my hematologist team as they managed my sickle cell along with the antenatal doctors, who managed the baby.
