3-2 Short Paper 1
3-2 Short Paper: Experiences and Values - Pregnancy
Ryan E. Hunt
Southern New Hampshire University
3-2 SHORT PAPER 2
After considering which aspect of sexuality to reflect on, I have chosen to share my
experiences with pregnancy. I have had a total of 4 pregnancies, which brought me 3 healthy,
beautiful babies. During the first 3 years of my marriage, my husband and I tried desperately to
get pregnant. I had been diagnosed with PCOS, an ovulatory disorder (HYDE, 2019), and it was
seemingly impossible. After multiple rounds of fertility medications and 2 miscarriages, we
decided to try for IVF. IVF is short for in vitro fertilization and is a procedure in which an egg is
fertilized by a sperm in a laboratory dish and implanted into the woman’s uterus (HYDE, 2019).
Finally, after all those years I was pregnant with boy/girl twins! I had a very typical pregnancy, I
was only considered high risk because I was carrying twins and I delivered them via cesarean
section, which is a surgical delivery through the abdomen (HYDE, 2019), on December 28th,
2016. 3 years later I was so sick and convinced I had a stomach bug. Surprise! With no fertility
treatments or warnings at all, I was 20 weeks pregnant with a baby girl and had no idea! This
would be the hardest time of my life.
My final pregnancy gave me a second daughter and our last baby. I was thrilled for one
more pregnancy and I wanted this to be all on my own terms, listening to my body, and preparing
myself for what would hopefully be a VBAC which is a vaginal birth following a cesarean
(HYDE, 2019). The universe had other plans and so did baby number 3. During our first
ultrasound baby girl was measuring perfectly but as we were getting ready to leave the doctor
noticed something in my lab work. The baby and I had an Rh incompatibility, and the doctor was
quickly concerned the baby would become anemic. As described in our reading, I was given a
Rhogam injection to be safe, but we still needed to keep a close eye on her because the doctor
3-2 SHORT PAPER 3
suspected through ultrasound, she was not getting proper blood flow. To be honest, until learning
about the Rh incompatibility in our readings, I really did not have a great understanding of it. My
idea of a relaxing pregnancy and a VBAC were quickly tossed out the window and we just hoped
the doctor made mention that carrying her to 32 weeks would be a slam dunk at this point.
I did everything I could to make myself as healthy as possible, but on top of everything I
ended up with gestational diabetes, which occurs when the pregnant body cannot produce
enough insulin (HYDE, 2019). I began eating much healthier and exercising as much as my body
could tolerate. I believe this is why I was able to carry her to full term and deliver such a healthy
baby.
Finally, I went to my last appointment, and it was then that I was told about the Covid
outbreak and how seriously this needed to be handled. I delivered my daughter 7 days into Covid
lockdown on April 1, 2020. My husband and I were the only ones allowed to be there. We had to
quarantine the whole week prior, and I had my last OB appointment in my car in the parking lot
of our doctor’s office. It’s still hard for me to process the trauma around covid for me. I felt so
defeated, like we made it through all these hurdles just to hit one huge one at the end. When we
arrived home from the hospital, we had to quarantine for 10 days before we could see anyone,
meaning we did not get to see our twins for 10 whole days. In the midst of all of this, I was
informed quickly that I did not have a job to go back to due to Covid, and all of a sudden, I was a
stay-at-home mom of 3. I did not realize at the time what a blessing this was, to be able to bond
with my newest baby and soak up all the quality time with my other 2.
Comparing my experiences with the concepts of this course has helped me to go back in
time and reanalyze everything I experienced during both pregnancies. Hyde and Delamater
3-2 SHORT PAPER 4
explain “both fetus and mother need a variety of nutrients”, and while I knew this, it wasn’t until
having gestational diabetes that I was aware of just how many nutrients are needed for a healthy
pregnancy. My last pregnancy took a toll on me developmentally and quite honestly, I probably
wouldn’t have had any more children if this would have been my first pregnancy, I say lovingly.
3-2 SHORT PAPER 5
References
HYDE, J. (2019). Understanding human sexuality (14th ed.). S.l.: MCGRAW-HILL US
HIGHER ED.
