This Mother’s Day is extra special for moms Chevonne Williams and Rouxle Moffit who bother had trouble trying to conceive their babies.
Williams, a maths tutor from Kuilsriver, and her husband of nine years, Gareth, are parents to Tiffany, 7, and 7-month-old Tianna.
At her six-week check-up, following the birth of her firstborn, Williams’s doctor spotted a growth on her ovary but told her not to be concerned.
“We left it untreated. But at the one-year check up, the doctor told me that the growth had expanded all over my ovaries,” she said.
“He told me that he doesn’t think I (would) be able to conceive in future.”
Williams said she was shocked and struggled to process the news.
“I went home and told my husband. I recall breaking down because we wanted to have more children.
“We eventually accepted that we won’t be able to have children and we were grateful that we had a daughter. Deep down I knew that I wanted to have another child.
“By the time Tiffany turned 5, we (had) came to terms with the fact that we are not having any more kids.”
But in January last year, Williams said she felt sick and a friend told her to take a pregnancy test.
“I took one test that (was) positive and ended up taking another four tests but still didn’t believe it. I went to my GP and then my gynaecologist, who confirmed that I was pregnant,” she said.
“At this point, I was already eight weeks pregnant. I had a big fear of losing the baby. It was only when my sister Keshia did the gender reveal that it sunk in that this is real.”
Williams said the entire experience was miraculous because she prayed throughout it.
“The cysts even got smaller. My doctor himself was so surprised. We had even discussed closing up shop in September 2021,” she said.
She added: “Thankfully, there were no complications in my pregnancy with Tianna.”
Rouxlé Moffit, who works in political management, and her husband Shaun have daughter Emilia, 5, and a 4-month-old son, Quinne.
Moffit said in 2020, during lockdown, she had a lot of time to ponder and realised she wanted a second child.
“My husband was content with just having one child but because I grew up with a sibling, I wanted that for my child too,” she said.
In June 2020, Moffit fell pregnant but at seven weeks, she miscarried and a month later, she started bleeding.
“Something felt off. I did another pregnancy test and I found out that I was pregnant, around six weeks after the miscarriage,” she said.
In December 2020, Moffit experienced had another miscarriage.
“I (had) never bled so much in my life and rushed to hospital. When I got there, they told me that the foetus was fine and they admitted me for observation.
“At some point that night, they did another scan and I lost the baby during the night.”
The couple later decided to undergo fertility treatment at the Aevitas Fertility Clinic in Pinelands. This entailed regular blood tests, closely monitoring of ovulation and taking medication to ensure ovulation peaks when it should.
Moffit said she went through three rounds of fertility treatment, each cost between R8 000 and R9 000.
In the last month of the fertility treatment, she fell pregnant with her baby, Quinne and carried to full-term.
Moffit said the whole experience was emotionally taxing.
“Pregnancy after two miscarriages meant having the constant fear that nothing is going to work out. I would go to the toilet and expect to see blood.”
After their ordeals, both moms have much to celebrate this year’s Mother’s Day with their new bundles of joy. They encourage other women who are struggling with conception to never give up.
“Don’t give up hope. Doctors might say it’s impossible but God has the last say. Without prayer and support, I never would have made it,” Williams said.
Moffit added: “It’s okay to feel upset and to feel discouraged. Allow yourself to feel what you’re feeling.”