Before she got married, Anne Coleen Soriano-Mendoza was told by the doctor that she might not be able to bear a child because of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
But in September 2015, she got the biggest surprise of her life when she saw two lines on her pregnancy test. That happiness was short-lived though as eight weeks into the pregnancy, she found out that there was no yolk sac.
In April 2016, Anne and her husband Kevin got another reason to be happy and hopeful: they were pregnant for the second time. But then again, they were devastated when after having a low heartbeat, the baby didn’t make it.
“I was so depressed that time and I repeatedly asked what’s wrong with me. But I was still praying and thought maybe God was testing my faithfulness, that maybe He wanted me to have not just one, but two angels in heaven,” she recalled.
According to Anne, it wasn’t easy for her to accept her PCOS diagnosis. She has been living with the condition since she was in high school. “Since I was a teenager, my monthly period never really followed a pattern. It would just show up whenever. I told my mom about it so she got me checked up and that’s when we found out. The doctor prescribed me medications but the teenager in me didn’t complete it. I didn’t like the symptoms I felt in my body, including excessive hair, menstrual irregularity, weight gain, and vaginal dryness. When I tried hormonal birth control to have a baby, the medications came with extreme side effects such as anxiety and weight gain. I quit taking the pills and decided to live a healthy lifestyle instead.”
After recovering from her second miscarriage, Anne worked with another OB-GYN for a safe and successful pregnancy journey. “I joined PCOS groups on Facebook and took notes from their experiences. I took Vitamin E and Folic Acid while maintaining a healthy lifestyle. My husband also took measures to live healthier,” she said.
Prayers and hard work paid off for Anne and Kevin. A year after losing another baby, they were pregnant again. Although bursting with excitement, Anne also felt a dash of fear as she already experienced two losses.
“We got great news as her heartbeat was good. I had to be on bedrest throughout my pregnancy because it’s a high-risk pregnancy,” she shared. “Fast forward to December 2017 when I was seven months pregnant and had to be admitted in the hospital because they found out I had low amniotic fluid. A few weeks later, we got alarmed because I didn’t feel my baby’s movement anymore. So my OB-GYN decided for an emergency Cesarean operation. My baby was a preemie but thank God she didn’t have to be put in an incubator, but she still had to stay in the NICU for two weeks.”
Those two weeks were another test of faith for the couple. They prayed hard for their rainbow baby to be healthy and that they could bring her home for Christmas.
And they did. “My daughter Olivia Gabrielle, our rainbow PCOS baby, is our best Christmas gift ever! She was exclusively breastfed. Our living miracle will turn 5 in December. We had so many delays, but God made sure the wait was worth it,” reflected Anne.
