Woman Discovers Pregnancy 9 Days Before Giving Birth, Calls It Best Christmas Present 'Since Jesus'
A Mississippi woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy just nine days after discovering that she was 38 weeks pregnant.
Lauren Chalk, an English teacher at DeSoto Central High School in Southaven, Mississippi, has a new title — Mom.
Chalk, 28, did not know she was pregnant until just before Thanksgiving, when she said she felt “on edge,” prompting her to take a pregnancy test.
The pregnancy test was positive, Memphis news outlet The Commercial Appeal reported, but with two recent miscarriages that had come after positive pregnancy tests, Chalk was skeptical that this result meant anything different.
“When you experience the hurt of that happening, you don’t really want to open yourself up to it again,” Chalk said of her 2015 and 2016 miscarriages.
“And so, I think that was part of it — that even if, in the back of my head, I subconsciously thought that something was leaning toward the pregnancy, I would dismiss it because I was most likely getting my hopes up.”
Chalk had also been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome as a teenager, meaning irregular menstrual cycles had been typical for her for years.
“Me and my husband just figured it wasn’t in the cards for us to have children,” Chalk told WHBQ-TV.
Despite her hesitations, Chalk scheduled a doctor’s appointment. She and her husband Keith braced themselves for what the ultrasound screen would reveal, expecting to see “something small.”
Instead, it was a full-term baby, estimated to be around 38 weeks gestation.
Based on Chalk’s medical history and high blood pressure at her appointment, Chalk’s doctor thought it best to induce labor that very day.
Around 8:00 p.m. on Dec. 2, just nine days after that positive pregnancy test, Chalk welcomed baby Wyatt Rivers Chalk into the world.
“I don’t think I could love anybody more than what I love Wyatt. He’s the best gift that anybody could give me — best Christmas gift since Jesus,” Chalk told WHBQ.
‘Miracle baby’: Southaven woman finds out she’s pregnant — nine days before giving birth https://t.co/nwe8m87N2x
— Commercial Appeal (@memphisnews) December 13, 2019
In hindsight, the Chalk family is glad that things panned out the way they did, crediting God with orchestrating the series of events just perfectly.
“I think that God planned all of it to be the way that it was,” Chalk said.
Keith agreed that a swift and unplanned timetable was best for him and his wife, considering their past struggle with miscarriage.
“That was honestly probably for the best,” Keith said. “We didn’t have time to stress ourselves out or get anxious about it.”
Christmas came a bit early this year for Keith and his wife, and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s the best Christmas present anybody could ask for,” Keith said.
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