As a general principle, the older a woman gets, the harder it is for her to conceive. Harder it is still for women who have issues with their reproductive systems.
Forty-year-old Udona Hebert from the state of Louisiana is one of these women. Shortly after marrying the love of his life Chuck in 1995, she received the devastating news that she could never bear children.
“Doctors said Udona’s body had naturally aborted embryos which meant she would never be able to carry a child,” said a Sun report.
During thanksgiving last year her body began to experience weird symptoms, such as fluttering in her stomach.
“It sounds silly, but I thought I had some form of cancer or infection,” Udona told PEOPLE. “I didn’t tell anyone about my ailment because I didn’t want Chuck to make a fuss over me. I prayed every night, in silent prayer, that I would get better.”
Pregnancy never crossed her mind; they have been trying to conceive for 20 years with no luck.
Photo credit: Udona Hebert
When her stomach aches and morning nausea persisted after two months, she finally went to the doctors to have herself checked.
That’s when she found that she was pregnant and had for more weeks in her pregnancy.
“Unfortunately, when she found out she was pregnant, she was on medicine for high blood pressure that typically causes the kidneys to shut down in babies and can lead to the loss of an unborn baby,” Dr. Paul Gibbs told PEOPLE.
Udona was very lucky, though.
“Here she was, some 20 years later, and she gets pregnant,” he says. “Every now and then I see someone that has struggled with fertility for years and by the grace of God they get pregnant. It’s hard to explain.”
When the baby was delivered, he was suffering from lung issues and remained in the intensive care unit for nine days.
Now, said the couple, the baby is “doing great.”
“I don’t let him out of my sight,” Chuck said. “It’s hard to describe this feeling—this love I have. The love for my child is something I hadn’t known and now I’m so glad I do.”
READ: 7 Conception myths busted by science
READ: The grace of waiting: pregnant after 10 years of infertility
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