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We are PREGNANT!

October 23, 2016

A friend of mine was blessed with a baby boy just the other day. I’m sure you know that when I say she was blessed I mean she was pregnant and finally gave birth. When I went to see her in hospital 24 hours after delivery, she was still in a lot of pain. Her face was puffed up, she couldn’t walk or sit properly, she was tired and exhausted, was on a fluids only diet and above all, she was still in hospital and not enjoying the comfort of her own bed at home. But despite all that, she was supper happy. And there was her little bundle of joy lying next to her. “All that pain and discomfort was worth it” she said looking at her cute little boy. And cute he is I have to say.

So as I stood there watching her, I could only imagine what her body had gone through. I remember when she first discovered she was pregnant she was really afraid. For some reason, even though this was not her first baby, she was really afraid of this pregnancy. Maybe it is because as soon as she conceived her body started punishing her. She used to faint very often, her blood pressure was very erratic, she had back and tummy pains to name just but a few of the challenges she was going through. But God is faithful because she finally overcame all that and now she holds her reward in her arms. So as I was watching her, a lot was going on in my mind. And no, I was not thinking of having another baby myself. Chapter closed.

I looked up the word Pregnant in the dictionary and found out that it has synonyms such as: significant, suggestive, expressive, charged, expectant, loaded, weighty, and gravid, among others. If you asked me though, I think they should consider adding a few more synonyms such as sacrifice, commitment, risk, change, pain and discomfort, among others. Why do I say that? Because when a woman is pregnant, all the additional words I have used apply to her not only during the pregnancy, but many years after. Being pregnant goes beyond carrying a baby in the womb.

When a woman becomes pregnant, whether it was wanted or unwanted, she has to come to terms with the changes that will definitely happen to her body. It does not matter whether she was a super model or not, as long as she is pregnant she has to come to terms with the fact that her body will change. Dramatically.

She also has to ensure that for both their sakes (the baby and hers), she has to eat right and healthy, exercise regularly, sleep well and overall, stay positive about her pregnancy. Regardless of what is happening around her in her world, she should not allow any of that to be trickled down to her baby. She should at all times stay expectant and hopeful that all will be well with her baby and with herself.

Being pregnant also requires for the woman to be prepared psychologically and physically. Inevitably, she knows that she will increase in weight and so she needs to prepare her wardrobe so that as she grows in size, she will still have cloths that she can wear comfortably. She needs to consider everything from the inner garments to the shoes she wears on her feet. In short, she has to be prepared to accommodate all the changes that come with being EXPECTANT. There is a risk involved, there is an investment involved, there is a mindset change involved, there is commitment involved and there is a lot of patience required.

Patience because this woman has to go through some crazy experiences sometimes for as long as she is pregnant, yet through all that she may not even be aware whether the baby she is carrying in her is normal or not, whether the pregnancy will make it to term or not, whether the baby will be born alive or not. So many negative possibilities, but the mother does not entertain any of that. She stays positive and patiently does everything she needs to do in order to ensure she delivers her baby.

Please allow me to submit to you today that you are pregnant too; some of you know it but some of you don’t know it yet. Pregnant with that book you have been afraid of writing because you are afraid no one will buy it from you. Pregnant with that song that you have been pushing to the back of your mind because you think you do not have the right voice for it. Pregnant with that invention that could be the one missing link that the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has been waiting for in order to completely eradicate malaria in Africa. Pregnant with that idea that will help get rid of laziness from the world we are living in today.

Yes you are pregnant with that wonderful idea that is inside of you waiting for you to give it the right food, the right exercises and the right energy for it to grow and become something visible. Question is, have you embraced your pregnancy yet? Or, are you trying to hide it so that other people don’t see it? How long do you think you can do that anyway, I mean hiding your pregnancy? And do you know the dangers of hiding a pregnancy? In real life, when a woman attempts to hide her pregnancy, among many negative repercussions, she stands a high risk of stunting the growth of her unborn child. Similarly, when you attempt to hide your pregnancy (idea, dream) instead of embracing it and enjoying the experience, you stand a great risk of losing that dream. Remember a while back I did mention in one of my articles that what you don’t use, you could lose.

I am pregnant. You are pregnant too. Question is, are you willing to embrace your pregnancy and do whatever it takes to ensure that you nurture it until you bring forth your baby into this world? Are you doing everything necessary, everything important to ensure that you do not restrain the growth of your pregnancy?

Truth is, there will be times when things will be tough and rough. From a pregnancy point of view, there are those days when you will wake up with morning sickness, or days you wake up with crazy cravings or days you just don’t feel like talking to anyone. All these challenges will be there when you are nurturing your dream, but they will not come in the same way I have described above. They will come in terms of hardships you have to endure, in terms of obstacles that you have to circumvent, jealous neighbors you have to ignore, unknown fears you have to conquer, among others. The beauty of it all is that if you know what you are carrying in you, then you will not let any of those things dissuade you because you know that in the end, it will all be worth it.

Holly Madison said this when she was pregnant, “Truthfully, being pregnant is changing me as a person. Each day is part of this amazing journey that has completely shifted the focus of my life and made me reevaluate my personal and professional goals”. Being pregnant with your dream has the safe effect on you. You enjoy the daily journey hoping and believing to see what you are carrying inside of you being birthed and having a life of its own.

I hope this analogy of a pregnant woman has not confused anyone. It is the realest way I could bring to light what it means to have a dream and to follow through with it until it is realized. And yes I did mean it when I said you are all pregnant. There is something inside of you that is asking to be born. Don’t let it die. Don’t stunt it. Yes you might be afraid to make this happen, but if you look at the bigger picture, you will one day look back and be glad that you allowed yourself to conceive and bring forth such a wonderful dream.

Nurture your dream. Nurture your life. Nurture your legacy. Enjoy your pregnancy.

PS: Article originally published in Tanzania's Guardian on Sunday on the 23rd of October, 2016, under my weekly column "Thoughts in Words".

 

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