Pregnant in the DR

Can you imagine being pregnant and living in poverty?

When I was eight months pregnant it was June Nashville. Every day was at least 90 degrees and I was miserable. I was so hot. Swollen. And sick of being pregnant.

In comparison to this woman, who was pregnant with twins (a boy and a girl), I had it so easy.

I lived in a very nice condo, which was air conditioned.
She doesn’t live in a nice condo and definitely doesn’t have air conditioning.

My husband doted on me.
She may not have a husband. 

I had plenty of maternity clothes.
She doesn’t. 
My son, Elias, had a nursery all to himself and it was perfectly decorated.
The house she will bring her children home to will likely be smaller than Elias’s nursery.

I had prenatal massages. 
She probably has never had a professional massage.

My husband and I had an income to provide for our family.
Her income is not adequate.

Great medical care. Her care is provide by a Medical Clinic run by World Vision. Without it, she would likely not receive very good, if any prenatal care.

Prenatal vitamins. World Vision provides her with the necessary vitamins and medicines that she needs.

The experience of first-time motherhood. We had the opportunity to hear her twins’ heartbeats. That sound of galloping horses took me back to when I was pregnant and I was flooded with emotion as I looked at her face – she was just as delighted as I was every time I heard Elias’s heartbeat. 

Breastfeeding. She will breastfeed her twins. World Vision encourages all women to breastfeed.

Love. She loves those babies. I love my son.

So, while our circumstances are vastly different, as mothers, we were connected. My prayer is that her babies will be born healthy and that through World Vision’s programs, she will receive the assistance she needs. And, when her children are old enough, that generous, loving, people will sponsor them.

Will you be a person like that today and sponsor a child through World Vision? Your sponsorship dollars do more than just help a child – they help mothers like the woman in this story.