CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Due to a shortage of OBGYN's, expectant mothers are struggling to book appointments.
Jacqueline Lopez spoke with 3NEWS as she discussed her journey and explained the importance of prenatal care, only magnifying the significance that obstetricians serve for moms.
Lopez would have been celebrating her son's 3rd birthday today. However, when she was 20 weeks pregnant OBGYN's informed her that her baby had a terminal illness called potter's syndrome.
"If I wouldn't have the resources to have an appointment at 20 weeks, I wouldn't have found out until a lot later about what the diagnosis was. It's extremely important for women to have those resources, and people to have those resources because you need to know what's going on with baby." Lopez said.
Every second counts in monitoring the health of babies. She adds that every mother deserves to be in know when it comes to monitoring their health and their baby's wellbeing. "20 weeks scan is supposed to be a happy time, and that's when I found out that he wasn't going to make it." She explained.
"It was an illness that is not known very much, it's very rare. So, the doctors were a little surprised to find out that he had that illness." Lopez said.
"I couldn't imagine not knowing at that point, or not being able to get an appointment." Lopez said. "You need to know what's going on with baby. I couldn't even imagine not knowing at that point, or not being able to get an appointment." She added.
Thanks to her physicians keeping her informed, Lopez was able to enjoy the time she had with Amari.
Unfortunately, that was not all. Lopez had PCOS also known as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. "It causes a lot of infertility in a lot of women. So just finding out I was pregnant was an amazing experience." She said.
God's miracle is the meaning behind Amari's name. Lopez said, "Having found out that I had a baby growing in my tummy was a miracle itself."
She added, "No matter what happened, or the diagnosis that he got. He will forever be my miracle baby."
To follow Jacqueline's journey as she works to help other moms in similar circumstances, follow her on TikTok and Instagram @iamjackvas.
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