When I told my husband the news of my pregnancy, his reaction was completely void of any visible emotion. I had imagined he would be absolutely over the moon, but it simply wasnt the case. We had both dreamt of becoming parents, going through all sorts of tests and treatments in our struggle to have children. By the time I finally became pregnant, he had likely resigned himself to thinking fatherhood just wasnt meant for us. Oddly enough, before we discovered the pregnancy, hed even talked about wanting to adopt a child. And yet, there he was, with a rather sour expression. I thought perhaps he needed time to process it all and assumed he must just be going through a rough patch. Despite everything, my own happiness remained undiminished.
I found myself blissfully happy, floating on a cloud of pure joy. What I had long wished and hoped for had finally come true. Sadly, the pregnancy soon became difficult. I ended up spending a good deal of time in hospital and eventually had to quit my job out of necessity. Still, my husbands response was far from supportivehe refused to help me at all. He grew increasingly irritable and short-tempered, dismissing the importance of my pregnancy. Being pregnant isnt a job, youre not carrying something about all day. I need a wife, you know. Im fed up with running the house on my own and working like a horse from morning till night, he would snap. The doctors told us not to strain ourselves, not to lift heavy things or overdo it because theres a greater risk of harming the baby, Id explain over and over again. But no matter how many times I tried to speak to him or make him understand, it never sank in.
Eventually, I had to be admitted to hospital, but my husband didnt ring, didnt show any concern, and didnt visit once. I ended up having an emergency caesarean section and our little one arrived early, but thankfully healthy. Overjoyed, I phoned my husband to share the news of our babys birth. His replyCongratulations!were the kindest words Id ever heard from him. But when I was discharged and returned home, I discovered hed gone. Fear and heartache washed over me, but I pulled myself together for the sake of my child. I made a solemn promise to do everything in my power to provide a happy life and warm home for my little one and for myself.
