Baby (illustration)
Baby (illustration)Thinkstock

“I must have needed a good ‘slap in the face’ in order to wake up and understand that pregnancy is, essentially, life. The life of a child,” Yael recounted.

“I had two perfect, little girls, and I was living a happy life. I was unprepared for a third pregnancy, and to tell you the truth, I did not want to be pregnant again. I spent the first two weeks of my pregnancy wavering between my desire to terminate and a great sense of uncertainty regarding what the future could potentially hold. I knew of a number of girls who had chosen to have abortions, only to find themselves living lives wrought with complete and utter guilt, even years after the fact. I did not want to experience what they continue to go through. I was also aware of potential complications linked to elective abortions. I had absolutely no clue what to do with myself. In the meantime, time continued to pass by.

“One morning, I woke up with terrible stomach pains. Suddenly, I had a feeling that maybe, something was going wrong with my pregnancy, without any external interventions. Perhaps the stress I was under caused my body to reject my unborn child. I hurried to the local health care clinic, and was immediately sent to the emergency room. The waiting was endless. Despite the fact that part of me had no desire to continue on with this pregnancy, another part me was scared to miscarry. It was a weird sensation. Two women lay in beds beside me, each faring similar fates as I, only for them, the answer was clear. They both lost their babies. One of the women could not stop crying. When I saw her pain, I understood that I could be in the exact same situation. She was so upset over what she had unintentionally lost… it just happened… How could I have even entertained the thought of consciously placing myself in such a situation? My thoughts shocked me to the core.

“The next two hours were unbearable; the fear was paralyzing. In the end, I was discharged from the hospital in good condition. I was sent home for observation with a living fetus.

“I had once heard about the ‘Efrat’ organization at a lecture, and I decided to turn to them. I told one of the organization’s representatives my story and made it clear to them that I may be an unusual case, as I did not seek any financial aid, but rather was interested in emotional guidance and support. Soon after, I received a call from an ‘Efrat’ volunteer, who stuck by my side to this very day. Because of her, I am going through this pregnancy with a greater sense of calm and a true feeling that I made the right choice.”