038. Imagine being told for eight years that your anatomy makes motherhood nearly impossible, only to defy every medical textbook. Join us as La-Anna Douglass shares her incredible journey of navigating life with two uteruses and two cervixes to finally welcome her miracle baby naturally.
On episode 38, we explore the rare and often misunderstood world of Uterine Didelphys (having a double uterus and double cervix) through the lens of La-Anna Douglass’s extraordinary journey at 40. After facing an eight-year battle with infertility, multiple failed IVF treatments, and the physical and emotional toll of a rare anatomical condition, La-Anna found herself at a crossroads. Her story is a profound look at the intersection of medical anomalies and maternal health, offering deep insight into the complexities of navigating the healthcare system as a woman of color seeking answers for her reproductive health.
Against all medical odds, La-Anna’s story culminates in a natural conception miracle that defies the traditional infertility narrative. This conversation dives into the resilience required to keep going when science offers no guarantees and the spiritual strength found in the waiting. Whether you are currently navigating IVF failure, living with a Müllerian anomaly, or looking for hope in the midst of a long infertility journey, this episode serves as a reminder that your body’s story isn’t over, even when the textbooks say otherwise.
About the Guest
Originally from Lacombe, Louisiana, and now residing in Baltimore, Maryland, La-Anna Douglass is a Women’s Advocate, motivational speaker, and the founder of Hope Still Stands, a platform dedicated to providing encouragement for those navigating reproductive health challenges. La-Anna spent nearly a decade navigating the complexities of Uterine Didelphys (two uteruses and two cervixes) and the heartbreak of failed IVF treatments. After an eight-year infertility battle, she defied all medical odds by naturally conceiving her miracle daughters, and she now uses her voice to prove that even in the longest waiting seasons, hope still stands.
Connect with La-Anna:
- Instagram: @hopestillstands
Key Topics
- Understanding Uterine Didelphys: What it’s like to live and menstruate with two separate uteruses and cervixes.
- The 8-Year Wait: Navigating the emotional and physical toll of long-term infertility and the “waiting room” of life.
- When IVF Fails: Coping with the disappointment of advanced medical interventions not yielding the expected results.
- The Natural Miracle: The surprising turn of events that led to a natural conception against all medical odds.
- Advocating in the Exam Room: Tips for talking to doctors when you have a rare condition and ensuring your concerns are heard.
Resources & Links
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Transcript:
Jamie: Anna, thank you so much for joining us on the show today.
La-Anna: Thank you so much for having me.
Jamie: I can’t wait to get into your story, but before we do, will you tell us a little bit about yourself?
La-Anna: My name is La Anna Douglas. I created the brand, hope still stands because it’s based on my journey from hatred to hope, dealing with infertility and low self-worth and mental health issues. I’ve overcome those things and now I’m sharing my story to inspire and ignite hope in others.
Jamie: Let’s go back because I know you have a long journey. If you wanna brief us on your first pregnancy and then how you got pregnant with your second.
La-Anna: In my mid twenties, my husband and I wanted to start to have children after the first year we became married. And I always was a girl that dealt with and women dealing with bad periods . That’s what the doctors used to tell me all the time, you’re just a girl with bad periods. But I remember moments every time my cycle would come each month, I would have cramps on my left side for three to four days, and then cramps on my right side for three to four days.
And each time I would talk to the doctor, you’re just a girl with bad periods. I remember when I had my first pap smear at the age of 15, I was told by the doctor that my cervix was invisible, no further testing was done. My mom, they didn’t tell my mom to go to, see a specialist. They just said, we just can’t see her cervix.
Fast forward to marrying my husband. I prepared him and said, I have horrible cycles. I’ve had accidents on myself at school, and then while I was working, and just in so much pain, sometimes, being so tired, crying, crawled up in a ball, and doctor’s still saying, you’re a girl with bad periods, you have a cyst on your right ovary. So after,
Jamie: so they’re heavy periods. Okay.
La-Anna: Heavy, like accidents, draining out like water. I would start my period and I have to pop a thousand milligrams of ibuprofen ’cause I’m in so much pain. Sometimes my mom would heat wet towels in the microwave and lay it on my stomach and I would finally have relief. All this blood just coming out and not understanding why.
And then thinking that I was abnormal. I had this in the back of my mind, you’re different. I don’t see other girls going through this. I don’t hear them talk about it in health class. So why am I going through this? So fast forward to marrying my husband, he understood that I, had horrible cycles.
Not thinking that this is going to impact my fertility journey and as having children, no one ever prepared me for that. I went to the hospital, often went to the emergency room often, and they just tell your sister’s is getting bigger and bigger. I would go for MRI scans, CAT scans, and still not being directly told what is going on with my body. So at one point they sent me to radiology to have a his history of opio ground, and that’s when they inject dye into a uterus. Usually when you get your results, they’ll call you or they’ll send you something in the mail? No, the radiologist came out directly to me and it, when I tell you the histogram was so painful, I was just like, why am I in so much pain? Each pap smear was so painful over the years.
So he came right in the radiologist, said, Mr. And Mrs. Douglas, I just have to tell you something. You have half a uterus. I remember being stunned. Half a uterus, wait, no. They said it was a cyst on my right ovary who has a half a uterus. I’ve never heard of women having that. And by the grace of God, I was working at a facility called Prenatal Assessments Center at the same time I went to go have this procedure done.
So I’m off from work. I was crying. When he told me this, I’m in shock. Sure. And I said to myself, I said, no, this doesn’t sit right with me. I was like I can’t just, take this information and settle with this. So he gave me my films and I said to my husband, once we got to the car, I said, can we just drive to my job? I need to talk to the doctors that I work for because this doesn’t sit right with me.
And I remember walking into the, to the clinic and the maternal fetal medicine doctor was a colonel in the army. I’ll never forget him. And he’s seeing patients that are pregnant. They’re doing ultra, he’s doing ultrasounds on these patients. And I said, excuse me sir, do you mind looking at my films? Like I said, I’m not one of his patients. I work for him. And he took the time and I remember his glasses on the tip of his nose, and he put the films in the screen and he said, Leanna, you don’t have half a uterus. You have two.
Jamie: Wow.
La-Anna: Now you remember I said for three to four days I would have cramps on my left, three to four days cramps on my right. And the doctors you just cyst on your right ovary. The cyst on my right ovary was my right uterus filling up with blood because my right cervix was closed. So when I would have those accidents, my uterus, I would look like I was six months pregnant at 15, 16, 17, 8 years old, 18 years old, 2022. And when my uterus couldn’t take it anymore, it would just gush out, drain of my drain out. And I’m like, no one was listening to me all these years since the age of 10, no one was listening to me.
Jamie: Wow.
La-Anna: And so the doctor said to me that I worked for, again, thank God for him, for taking the time to look at my films. He didn’t have to do that. And he said, you need to research a reproductive endocrinologist. What is that? I had never heard of that. And I got home. Started researching in my area, who is a great reproductive endocrinologist, where can I go? Does my insurance cover this? And I found Dr. Altman at John Hopkins.
I will proudly say her name. I find her, she does a thorough exam, vaginally and anally. When I tell you I’m screaming at the top of my lungs, I’m crying, I’m squeezing my husband. I said, I can’t do this appointment by myself. So my husband’s in there, I’m pulling at his shirt, I’m pulling at his head. I’m screaming, yeah. And she said, we need to schedule surgery. We do surgery, laparoscopic surgery. And I had I Del Fas and I still do have it, I Del Fass, which is a double womb and a double cervix.
Jamie: Wow.
La-Anna: I am just overwhelmed.
Jamie: Yeah.
La-Anna: But I felt validation, like finally, this is what I’ve been saying for the last 12, 13, 14 years.
And no one was listening to me. Yeah. On top of that I had endometriosis, and on top of that I was diagnosed with three fibroids also.
Jamie: Whoa. Can we go back to the procedure? Why were they going in anally? What, why?
La-Anna: Because I was telling her about this right side pain that I was having in my vaginal area, that it was ex excruciating. So going anally, she can touch my cervix. That right cervix. So my cervixes, I know it’s weird to say it that way, but it’s two of them, they’re, if you look at a clock, they’re at nine o’clock Uhhuh. So that Right cervix is at, both of them are at nine o’clock. But when she went anally, she could, she was literally touching my cervix and every time I’m screaming,
Jamie: yeah.
La-Anna: So she this woman, this beautiful, brilliant woman, knew what my complaint was. So it, like she, she’s probably already dealt with patients that dealt with this, so she knew exactly what to do.
Jamie: Yeah. And you’re probably like, I will endure all this pain because you’re figuring things out. Exactly.
La-Anna: Because all these years I’ve been told, it’s just you’re just a girl with bad periods that label the girl with bad periods. Instead of saying, let’s really look into this. You’re, a different type of patient, let’s figure out what’s going on. No, the label was, you’re a girl with bad periods.
Jamie: Yeah.
La-Anna: So I was willing to just let her do what she had to do. So that we could really pinpoint what was going on with me.
Jamie: Yeah. Oh, then, so then what happened next? What are we gonna do in surgery?
La-Anna: So the laparoscopic surgery is to try to figure out what type of uterine uterus I had, because now I know I didn’t know then you can have aor uterus, you can have a bio coordinate uterus, you can have a Delphi uterus, which I have. And then with a Delphis uterus, you can have two wounds, two uterus. Two cervixes. And you can have two vaginas. See, these are things that are not talked about in our community. Yeah. As women, as young girls.
As little girls in school, they talked about stay away from drugs and sta no de sex. Okay. But what about fertility?
Jamie: Yeah.
La-Anna: What about a woman being born with no womb? What about a woman being, or a young girl being born with two wombs or whatever the case may be? They didn’t talk about that. Okay. So I’ve learned so much, and I know I’m saying it now that I’ve learned so much, but back then I had no clue. Di uterus. It just, and let me say, I was born with one kidney, so most of most women that have a di uterus or bi coronary, they may only have one kidney. But back then as a baby, right as a baby, they said I had blood on my stomach, but they didn’t know to look for my uterus. They didn’t know. When I was a baby they saw the blood on my stomach and they told my parents I had one kidney and jaundice and liver infection, but never said, with the blood on the stomach, do some more testing.
I know now with a dialysis uterus, most likely you’re gonna have one kidney.
Jamie: Huh? Fascinat. So what’s the next steps? You had two uterus and two cervix. So you just had two of both.
La-Anna: Exactly. When she did the surgery, she found endometriosis on both of my fallopian tubes.
So one fallopian tube is attached to one wound. The other fallopian tube in the ovary, and the other fallopian tube in the ovary is attached to the other womb. So the endometriosis was wrapped around both fallopian tubes, entangled on both sides of my uterine. And then I had three fibroids, thinning in between both uterus and they were very small, so she didn’t remove the the fibroids, but she did remove as much endometriosis as she could and cleared out my tubes and all those things, and opened my right cervix. So I had to have a surgery where she opened my right cervix and I had a Foley tube hanging from my vagina, basically for a few weeks. And then I had to go back to have that removed because my right cervix was closed.
Jamie: So you also had only one vagina, but two?
La-Anna: Yes. They just know that they’re having horrible periods, can’t get pregnant, whatever the case may be. And they don’t know to go to get further testing or maybe they’re too afraid or they’re suffering in silence.
I want to find more women like me so that we can support each other because, it’s not talked about enough.
Jamie: Yeah. So did your surgery help with your pain during your cycle.
La-Anna: So it did to a point. Of course, having my right cervix open, that made a big difference so that I had free flow. I wasn’t swelling up like I was, I, like I said, I was looking like I was six months pregnant for years. I would swell up and then it would go away. So that really helped. I still had pretty bad cramping, but not like it was, but I was still dealing with two periods every month. So that frustration of, it’s still two cycles every single month
Jamie: fascinating.
La-Anna: Yeah. It’s two separate systems and those things need to be discussed and talked about so people know what’s going on with their bodies because
Jamie: Yeah.
La-Anna: A lot of people don’t know.
Jamie: Okay. So how long did it take you to get pregnant the first time?
La-Anna: So we tried after doing all those surgeries, I still wasn’t getting pregnant. Still wasn’t getting pregnant, doing ovulation kits, making sure I’m ovulating, taking blood tests, going to MRIs, ca it was doing so many tests, so much testing,
Jamie: Uhhuh, in theory, your twice as fertile in theory, as most women are.
La-Anna: You would think. Yeah. On paper. On paper. Paper, yeah. But I still wasn’t getting pregnant Uhhuh. And so she said, let’s try Clomid. So we tried Clomid and I’m taking the pills and ovulation kits and going back and forth, getting blood work done. And I still wasn’t getting pregnant. And this is time is passing,
Jamie: yes.
La-Anna: And so she, yes. So she was like, but you don’t qualify. I don’t qualify for IUI because I have two wounds. It just won’t work for me. And so she had me go on birth control for a little bit and to see if my cycle will regulate. ’cause sometimes my cycles will last too long.
And so eventually she told me, my husband, you know what let’s, I think we should move forward with doing IVF. And so we were like, okay. I, at that time I was feeling like a robot, if that makes sense. Like I. Smiling, everything is okay. But I inside, I’m like, years have been passing, I’ve already been dealing with all this pain, already gone through three surgeries. So I’m like, we’re still not getting pregnant.
Jamie: Yeah.
La-Anna: So those dark clouds, I had things that happened in my past as a young girl, not loving myself, being bullied, being sexually abused, people telling me I was ugly, too dark. So I had those dark clouds that I try to put in the back of my mind. So now that when I can’t get pregnant and I can’t in my mind, give my husband a child, I’m starting to feel a little depressed.
Jamie: Yeah.
La-Anna: It’s starting to feel like I’m not woman enough and those feelings were coming, but I’m still smiling. Everything’s fine. Yeah. I’m still gonna work. I’m still going to church.
I’m still hanging with family and friends, but I really saying to myself like, Annie, you’re not enough. Like I was really feeling low. So we start the IVF treatment. My husband actually did the injections in my belly. And I remember going to a particular church conference and we had our little backpack with our ice pack inside, with all our shots.
And we tipped out for him to do the shots in my belly. And I came back and sung in the choir. That’s, that was our life,
Jamie: yeah.
La-Anna: And we just were optimistic okay, we’re going to get pregnant through IVF, like nothing else has worked naturally. IUI putting pillows underneath our back, sitting our legs, sitting my legs up, and we’ve done it all, this is gonna work. So we do IVF transfer and I remember transfer day. I was just so excited. I’m like to tears. My husband and I are holding each other. We’re so excited. And I remember them trying to do the transfer and trying to get the speculum on my cervix. And I, one of them. And they wanted to do the left cervix, the left uterus, and the left cervix, because the right cervix was incompetent because I had that surgery.
So if I would’ve got pregnant and my right uterus with the right cervix, I would have to been on bedrest the whole pregnancy door, SEC Lodge, the whole nine.
So they were trying to get it on the left cervix. Now can you imagine a doctor and their, everyone that’s assisting this procedure, having to locate which is the right cervix.
Jamie: Yeah.
La-Anna: ‘Cause I’m not the typical one uterus, one cervix woman. So I remember his face looking, they have the ultrasound on my belly and him trying to get the spec and keep trying and keep trying. I just remember that feeling like, okay, he’s gonna get it. Like he’s gonna get it, but still feeling in the back of my mind, like he’s not getting it.
And so I’m dealing with the pain of it because it’s still painful. And long story short, he does the transfer and I remember walking out, crampy and all that. Oh, actually they laid, rule me out. But and they wheeled me out to outside to my husband and we get in the car and everything and I’m just so excited.
Okay. This is, we did it like this is it? It’s been six years. We did it, it’s done six and a half years. And so
Jamie: how old were you at this point?
La-Anna: Wow. I had to be, I got married at 22. We started a year after, so I had to be 29, 30. Okay. Maybe around, yeah. 29. ’cause we got married at 22. Yeah. So I had to be like 29 years old.
And I remember the nurse saying to us, we’re gonna call you. So make sure you come home. We both were at work on this day and this time we’re gonna call you with the results. We rushed home. We got off early from work. We were like, oh, we’re ready. This is the day. Get home. We’re huddled on the couch.
Have the they call and it’s on speaker phone, on our little house phone that we had. And I remember her saying, Mr. And Mrs. Douglas, I just wanna let you know it’s negative.
Jamie: Ugh.
La-Anna: The scream. It was like, you know how you’ve, I’ve cried so many tears, like I’ve cried so many tears over the years of all the things I’ve been through that wailing cry that came outta me. DI didn’t even realize it was there.
Because I was so like, how this week, this is our moment. Everyone else is getting pregnant around us. Family members, friends. I’m working at prenatal assessment center like. What else? Like I’ve seen people get pregnant and say, oh, I have two girls. I’m having another girl. I have three boys, and we just want one. I just wanna give my hu I wanna have my husband be a father to be a daddy like I felt that was our moment. The, my husband grabbed the phone. So I’m gonna tell this part first. My husband grabs the phone and he finishes talking, and I’m just crying.
I cannot understand. I’m like, Lord, how God, we’re good people. How? That’s what I’m thinking. I’m like having a discussion with the Lord while screaming I’m thinking like how we are good people. We just want one baby. We don’t care if it’s girl or boy. We just want one child. And so time went on. I remember telling my husband over and over again, marry someone else.
Why are you wasting your time with me? You could have by now, six, seven years, you could have had two or three children. You could have had a whole other fam like a family. Why are you wasting your time? And I remember one day he’s working night shift and I’m home by myself with our dog, Maybelline, and he’s working night shift.
And the devil was like really playing with my mind like, okay, why are you even here? I remember saying to myself like, my life is not worthy. Or like, why am I living? They said back in the day I was ugly. They said, I’m too dark. You’ve been through all these, problems with infertility and bad periods.
You can’t give your husband a child. You’re not woman enough. And I remember walking into the kitchen and looking at the butcher board with all the knives. And I remember pulling up each knife, okay, this one’s not sharp enough. Okay, wait, this one’s too short. And I remember getting to the serrated knife. Ready to cut my throat. And God said to me, Leanna, your life has a purpose. Hope still stands. What? Who me? My life has a purpose. No, I’m the one that doesn’t, can’t give my husband a child. I’m the one that can’t get pregnant. I’m the one with the abnormal, reproductive system. Two wounds, not me.
My middle name is hope. I didn’t understand. I knew my name was Lana Hope. I didn’t know what hope meant. I never sat down to think, what does my middle name mean? My name, Lana, what does hope really mean? And I was like, wait, I’m still standing. I’m still here. So I said to my husband again, you know what time went on?
I told my husband, just move on. I just need to just be released from this. And he said, I love you with or without children. So we decided, you know what? Let’s just not think about having children right now. Let’s just focus on our marriage, on our love, on our relationship. And I remember time went on.
Eight years comes and I’m waking up early in the morning. I’m like, I think it was July 5th or July 6th, 2012. So I wake up and I’m feeling to this on the left side of the bed and I wake up and open my eyes and I’m like, babe, and I see the light on downstairs. I was like, baby, are you okay? He was like, yeah, I’m just downstairs.
Mind you, while my husband’s downstairs, I don’t know this, he’s reading about Hannah in the Bible about her petitioning the Lord for a son. I don’t know this at the time. So I get up. I’m like, I have to go to the restroom so bad. And I had this urge to take a pregnancy test. I’m like, why am I gonna take a pregnancy test?
I’ve had it up to here with pregnancy tests, but I had a pregnancy test handy and it was like, take the test. Like God told me, take the test. I was like, okay. I take the test, I’m gonna be frank. I, it’s like candid camera. I’m trying to urinate on a test. I’m just, when I tell you like, flash, it’s just, I’m like, what is going on?
Am I on America’s fronts own videos? What’s going on? And I finally get it on the test and I put the test down and I’m like, LA Anna, don’t look at the test. Let it, wait three minutes. I looked at test right away and it was two lines. I start screaming two, I’ve never seen two lines before.
It’s always been no a dash. I don’t, I’m like, what is two? I am like, what is that? Screaming and screaming. My husband comes upstairs, what’s wrong? I was like, I took a pregnancy test and he was looking at me like, for what? Because we’re just, it’s just gonna be us. That’s what we thought. Like it’s just supposed to be husband and wife and that’s it.
And he looked at the box, looked at the test. He was like, baby, that means you’re pregnant. I’m like, no, I’m not. You’re lying. He was like, no, you’re pregnant. I remember calling my mother. I’m like, mommy, get dressed because anyone that has a good relationship with their mother, you just have to call them.
I have a great relationship with my father also, but it’s just that motherly mommy, guess what? She got dressed. We all got dressed and we rushed to John Hopkins and they said, Mrs. I’m like, I’m high risk. I need to have an ultrasound now I need to confirm that I’m pregnant. And they were able to gimme an ultrasound, I think the next day. I think it was the next day, and there was a heartbeat, and we were pregnant after eight years of infertility.
Jamie: Beautiful. And naturally.
La-Anna: Naturally.
Jamie: Oh, beautiful.
La-Anna: Thank you so much.
Jamie: So let’s fast forward
To your 40. Right before
You had your first baby. Yes. And are you thinking, oh, we can do this again?
No big deal. Are you like one and done?
La-Anna: We thought, okay, let’s wait a year again. And we’re gonna start to try to get pregnant again. Like it’s, we’ve got it now. We had a baby, naturally we’re gonna get pregnant. Like that. No, that did not happen. One year turned to two, two year, turn to 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. And my husband’s getting older. He’s four years older than me.
So I remember he just turned 45 and I was 39. And remember us laying in the bed. Actually before I get there, during the pandemic, I am teleworking at home and I remember having pain on my left side. What is this? Because during my cycle I would have, cramping. But like pain when I’m not during my cycle was always my right uterus. I would have sometimes pain that would just happen. Because of the way the right uterus and the right cervix was whatever reason.
So I was like, something’s not going on. Something’s not right. Something’s not going right. Excuse me. And so I went in to see my primary care doctor, and she says you probably just have some things going on. I said can you just push right here? And she pushed and I jumped. She was like, okay, I’m sending you to go get an ultrasound done.
Go get an ultrasound done. The young lady says you have a cyst on your left ovary. See, the 20-year-old me would’ve been like, oh, okay. 20 something year old, oh, right now I’m 39, turning 40. I was like no, I need a second opinion. This doesn’t seem right. It’s no way. It’s just a, this the way I’m feeling, the pain.
And so I went to have this balloon procedure done where they put a balloon for me. I would have to get two. So balloon in one womb, the balloon in the other womb, and they do all the, this ultrasound and they’re looking inside and they said you have a lot of polyps. And they said, your three fibroids have grown. And I forgot, to be honest with you, I forgot all about my fibroids.
Jamie: Wow.
La-Anna: I was diagnosed in my early twenties, but I literally forgot. ‘
Jamie: cause you’re not having the pain,
La-Anna: I wasn’t having any pain. But I think sitting, I don’t know if it’s sitting because if I was teleworking, I don’t know what it was, or maybe the size they grew to sitting in between my two uterus. I don’t know what started the pain. I don’t know. When I went to this particular doctor that talked about if I wanted to have a hysterectomy, I think she was a reproductive endocrinologist or a maternal fetal medicine doctor, she was like, do you wanna have a hysterectomy or do you wanna have a laparoscopic robotic myectomy For me, I was done. We have our daughter. Yes. I, because I, at that point, I had dealt with pain for since the age of 10, and I was 39. 29 years.
Jamie: She wanted to do a hysterectomy. Because you had cyst on your ovaries?
La-Anna: No, because I had the fibroids. Okay. She said I had a choice because of the fibroids.
’cause it wasn’t really a cyst on my ovaries that time. Okay. It was the fibroids. When the young lady did the ultrasound. She thought it was a cyst, what she saw, but it was actually the fibroids.
Jamie: Oh, okay.
La-Anna: So when I went and did the balloon procedure, that’s when they really could see inside my uterus. And so they referred me to another doctor at John Hopkins. Hopkins. And she said it’s up to you. Because I already, at that point, since we hadn’t gotten pregnant again, yeah. I was ready to be done with periods. So if they need to do hysterectomy, remove both uterine. I was good because I’ve been through so much and we had our miracle child. I was grateful I, we weren’t gonna take for granted that we had Olivia.
Because we know what it’s like too long for a child. We have one. How can we be like, we want more. We have one. We were blessed with one. And so I was ready for hysterectomy take him out. I was like, we’re good. I’m tired of pain. And I remember talking to my husband and talking to my mom two separate times.
Talked to my husband and I said, babe, I’m ready for hysterectomy. He was like, I said what do you think? He said, honestly, I think we should, try again. So what do you think about if you do the ro robotic laparoscopic myomectomy?
And then I talked to my mom separate occasion and she said the same thing, aunt Anna, I think this what she calls me, Anna, I think you should try the laparoscopic robotic myomectomy, but it’s up to you. It’s your body. That’s what it’s your body. That’s what they kept saying. I thought about it, prayed about it.
And so I talked to the doctor and I said, let’s do the laparoscopic robotic myomectomy and they do the surgery. I remember going in for the surgery. First actually sitting in the room before you actually go into surgery. There’s a whole bunch of little rooms with curtains and where all the patients are in the rooms.
And the number that was above my head in the room that I was in, or the area I was in was number 17. And at that point, we were married for 17 years. And I remember recording a video. I remember recording, oh my gosh, thank you, Lord. I’m just praying for a smooth surgery, no problems. And I was like, we’re in room 17, Lord. This is amazing. Remember, I remember being willing to the, or talking to everyone. Everyone’s so nice. And my doctor, Dr. Kara Simpson of John Hopkins, she walked in finally after everyone was set up. And I remember her grabbing my hand and I started crying. I just remember because I was like, finally, okay, we’re gonna have this surgery.
We’re gonna see what happens. But either way, I’m grateful. I’m a mom, my husband’s a father. Like I’m good. And I remember her patting me. Everything’s gonna be okay, everything’s gonna be fine. And I’m gone. I’m knocked out. Wake up. She removes three, three fibroids. So that was February 25th, 2021.
August comes and I turned 40 years old, and I’m like, yes, I’m 40. And fabulous. Yes. I’m happy. Like I’m 40. Like I remember wanting to kill myself. Now I’m 40.
Jamie: And look how far you come!
La-Anna: And look how far I’ve come. I don’t take it for granted. ’cause I had low self-esteem for so many years. And I finally found myself like. I’m beauty. I’m beautiful. I’m worthy of love. I’m worthy to be here. My life has a purpose and I’m 40 years old.
I remember my husband and I, we’re laying in the bed and he says, you know what, babe? I’m good. You had the surgery. We have Olivia. He said I think we’re good. He said, I’m 45 now. And I’m like, I know, babe. You’re 45. I’m 40. We’re good. Let’s not think about having children.
I think that was the Sunday, September 19th or September 21st. It was a Sunday morning and he was like you, over the past couple weeks, you’ve seem different. I’m gonna be honest, I’m burping for no reason. My stomach is upset. I’m sweating like my, like I’m sweating for no reason. It was just weird. I’m like, what is wrong with me? I’m like, is this 40? What’s going on? So that morning, Sunday morning, he was like, I need, should take a pregnancy test. And I was like no. I was adamant I did not wanna take it because I didn’t wanna get disappointed, and so I take the test and I set my alarm and we’re just about back sitting on the bed waiting and waiting and the alarm goes off and I go to look and it was two lines again. I was like, what? And the same thing happened eight years. Eight years. I’m like, what? Eight means? New beginnings. I was having a new beginning, turning 40.
Jamie: Yeah.
La-Anna: Loving, embracing all of me, finding my purpose, knowing that I had a voice, that my voice deserved to be heard. You can lose who you are, your purpose, what you’re supposed to do, how you’re supposed to live your life. And so it was like eight years again, and we were pregnant with our second daughter and I, it’s just amazing. And now she’s one years old. We have a 10-year-old and a 1-year-old.
Jamie: Amazing. So how far along were you when you found out?
La-Anna: I actually was pregnant on my birthday. My birthday’s August 31st. So I was five weeks when I found out. So I was pregnant three weeks before I turned 40 and didn’t know it.
Jamie: How fun.
La-Anna: It’s just crazy and miraculous.
Jamie: So how was your pregnancy?
La-Anna: It was good. I was of course still high risk.
Going to ultrasounds every, couple weeks and then started to be every week checking for my gestational diabetes and I did not have it. Making sure that my kidney was fine because I’m level one kidney disease, so I have to be careful about my kidney also had high blood pressure, so I had to do, excuse me. Take blood pressure medication. So I ended up having preeclampsia. My first pregnancy. I had preeclampsia also.
Jamie: So both of your pregnancies were in your left uterus?
La-Anna: Yes.
Jamie: Fascinating. Okay. So how did you go to your same OB that you used for your first pregnancy?
La-Anna: No. So it was a different ob Dr. Ecky at John Hopkins because of my situation with the high blood pressure, the level one kidney disease, they wanted me to see a particular doctor. And it’s it’s been years since the first pregnancy, so things have changed, technology has changed and all those things. So they wanted me to see him. And he was a great doctor and do my ultrasounds and also send me to get ultrasounds done in the radiology department, or it’s still OB GYN, but in the radiology section of it. And I also had non-res tests throughout the third trimester of my pregnancy.
Jamie: Okay. And how would you describe your pregnancy overall?
La-Anna: I was happy. I would say the first pregnancy I was a little fearful. After already going through what I went through, yeah. I was a little oh wait. Oh. Just scared, but not scared, if that makes sense.
Jamie: Yeah.
La-Anna: Because you just don’t wanna lose the pregnancy, you don’t want anything to happen. You just all those things are in the back of your mind. And then the second pregnancy, it was just like relief. I have nothing to worry about, even though I have all these things going on with preeclampsia or high blood pressure at the time.
And the level one kidney disease and all those things. I was just happy. I’m like, this is just gravy. Because all that we’ve been through, we have our first child truly blessed by that. Now to be pregnant again. What do I have to complain about? There’s no complaints because I know since I’ve been speaking and having the community with all the other couples and women that have been going through infertility, why would I even complain?
Because I know what it’s like to long and want and desire. Now I’m in a place that I’ve been blessed in this way. I have nothing to complain about. So I just was just joyful and happy.
Jamie: That’s amazing. I love that. And did you find out the gender?
La-Anna: Yes. So we had, yes. So for this, we found out the gender at our gender reveal party.
Jamie: Oh, fun.
La-Anna: But we also, yes. It was so exciting.
Jamie: Tell us about it.
La-Anna: Yes. So we did a ville party at our house. We invited some of our family and what we did was we ordered cupcakes and had my husband sent the ultrasound picture to the cake place, to the bakery. And, we didn’t look at it and they, we told them to put the color in one of the cupcakes.
And so we handed out cupcakes to everyone including us. I didn’t wanna eat one, I wanted everyone else to eat it. And of all people, my sister bit the cupcake, my sister has four girls, Uhhuh, so she bites the cupcake and it’s pink. So everybody laughed because, she has four girls and the fact that we’re having another girl.
So it was just exciting. Of course, everyone wanted us to have a boy because we already had a girl, but in our eyes we’re like. We just want the baby to be healthy.
Jamie: That’s right.
La-Anna: We don’t care if it’s a boy or girl, we just want a healthy child. We’re just grateful to even be in this place of being pregnant again.
So it was so much fun. We did have, for me, my husband was calm about it, but I was a little, this is the only thing I was nervous about because of my age. I had to get genetic testing or, trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 and Down Syndrome and all those things. And I remember, I think we were in the second trimester and they did an ultrasound and they were saying her nose is wide, her nose was abnormally wide, so they, we may wanna make sure that she doesn’t have Down syndrome.
We’re like we’re African American, so we have wide noses. But in the back of my mind I’m like, oh my gosh. Oh, you’re kidding me. ’cause of my age, I’m thinking, oh my goodness. Because we’re, when you’re over 35, you’re considered. So I’m just like, oh my gosh. What?
My husband’s very calm babe. It’s fine. It’s fine. No, it’s fine. And remember when she was born, just seeing her and knowing that everything was fine. Not to say a child with Down syndrome is not still a miracle and not still a blessing. But I did have that worry. Yeah. That, that she had something going on. It was just finally a relief for me. ’cause that was the only thing that I was nervous about during the second pregnancy.
Jamie: Was there any products that you couldn’t live without that you recommend for pregnancy?
La-Anna: Okay. So my pregnancy pillow, I’m gonna be honest with you. I love my pregnancy pillow. I ordered it on Amazon and I still sleep with my pregnancy pillow today. And my daughter’s one years old.
Jamie: Wow.
La-Anna: It supports my back. With the second pregnancy, I had problems with my back. I have to go to chiropractor, so I still sleep with that pregnancy pillow.
Wow. It’s yeah I have to have it with me and it’s really supporting my back and my my legs. Yeah. Yeah.
Jamie: Anything else for me?
La-Anna: I do with the C-section, I still wear high waisted underwear just to support my stomach. ‘Cause I still dealing with some numbing and some irritation with the incision. Even though it’s a year later. So high wasted one, one underwear is if you’re gonna have a c-section please have that. And please take whatever the is left over after you have your baby. When you’re discharged, take everything, take all the underwear. Take, just take it like it’s free because you’re paying for it. Yeah, you’re paying for it anyways. I know it’s not free, but you’re paying for it anyways, so take it because you can still use it when you get home. Yeah. So that and Tums pads for hemorrhoids. Please have that on hand because you just, it’s just a lot. Yeah.
Jamie: And how did you prepare for birth in the baby?
La-Anna: I did take some classes when it deals with breastfeeding, because my first pregnancy, I never really got to breastfeed. My first daughter was born at 32 weeks and four days, and she had hydrocephalus and vi ventriculomegaly. Thehy, the hydrocephalus subsided, and that’s when there’s fluid on the brain, but it’s subsided. But her ventricles are larger than the typical person.
And she was born early. She was in the nicu, and so I had to pump. And also during that time, they gave me a flu shot, the hoofing cough vaccination. I could be saying it wrong. And they gave me birth control. It was the Nexplanon, the tube they put in your arm.
And it’s birth control. I had an allergic reaction, so while my daughter’s in the nicu, I’m trying to pump, I broke out in hives all over. I remember my husband rushing me back to labor and delivery and says, my hu my wife has hives all over and they didn’t think it was an Nexplanon.
So they sent me to dermatology a couple of days later and I’m still dealing with these hives. I’m on fire. I’m in so much pain. Yeah. And you just gave, just gave birth. My breasts are swollen, the whole nine. And I went to dermatology and they took a tissue sample from my arm and she said it’s the tube, the Nexplanon tube I was allergic to.
Jamie: Wow.
La-Anna: So they had to go back to labor and delivery. Had that removed. Soon as they removed it, my skin started to subside.
Jamie: Yeah.
La-Anna: So all of that, I went through her being in the NICU for a couple weeks so that it was a lot going on. Now the second pregnancy after the C-section, she didn’t have my daughter, I had the second daughter at 34 weeks and six days. So she did not have to go to the nicu, but she was in the nursery.
So that process of having a c-section and starting to move around and them checking my incision and all that was pretty, you’re on medication, but it’s still very sore and painful.
Jamie: Yeah.
La-Anna: And then when it came to breastfeeding my, they had to put nipple pads ’cause I’ve never, like I said, breastfed before, but the lactation consultants, all of the nurses were so supportive, so helpful, showing me what to do. So I was able to breastfeed for about a month and a half and do a lot of pumping. So it was like night and day from the first, time around. So it was really great to actually have that moment. But even if you’re not able to breastfeed. It’s okay. That pressure of you gotta breastfeed, you got formula is just as good as breast milk, so I don’t, I, that pressure of it. ’cause the first time around my lactation consultant was pressuring me, put the, put your nip on. And I couldn’t do it. And I was so mad at myself I cannot breastfeed my child while she’s in the nicu. But she’s still fine. She’s healthy, she’s okay. Formula worked. Yeah. So that pressure I don’t want, ladies to feel pressure about breastfeeding.
Jamie: So you took some classes to prepare? Yes. For birth?
La-Anna: Yeah. For birth. I didn’t take but for breastfeeding. Breastfeeding I did. Gotcha. Yes. For breastfeeding I did.
Jamie: Okay. And so also, I guess you had. You had your baby shower and Yes. Clothes and all that preparation too.
La-Anna: Yes. I had a wonderful baby shower because it was during co like the, I guess the latter part of COVID almost. We just did it at my house and we did it virtually virtual, and it was so beautiful. Very emotional. Very emotional because we, my, my oldest daughter, our oldest daughter, from the age of seven until she turned nine, she would say, I want a sibling. Are we gonna have a sibling? Are you gonna have another baby? Mommy, mommy. I would love a brother. I would love a sister. And we had to keep telling her, Olivia, I have to say, Olivia, I don’t know. Mommy and daddy were, we tried, but we don’t know if we’re gonna have another baby. So we’re saying this you over time, I would take her to school and she’s sitting in the back of the car and she’ll say, when I have a brother, they’ll sit right next to me. We have enough room in the car, wanna have a sister? She could sit with me and we would try to tell her okay, Olivia, but you have your cousins. We would say, you have your cousins. All your cousins can come over. She would, we would have sleepovers all the time, or she would go sleepover at their house because she longed for a sibling, she would go to school, see, hear kids talk about their siblings. So we would try to not show the emotion of it, but it was hard to tell her that we didn’t know if we would have more kids.
So she longed for a sibling. She didn’t care if it was a girl or she was like, I don’t care. I have brother or sister. I don’t care. That was a hard time. Yeah. Especially after already going through infertility and then you have your child, and your child is seeing everyone else with siblings, like how we would see everybody else with children, it was like, yeah. So it was hard to see her long for something and we felt like we couldn’t give it to her.
It was hard. So to see her, be a big sister,
Jamie: What was it like telling her that you were pregnant and she was gonna have a sibling?
La-Anna: It’s the best thing. We took her to build a bear. We was like, we have a surprise for you. We took her to build a bear. She gotta build this beautiful bear. And it was actually a rabbit. She put the heart in it and picked out clothes and we said, mommy and daddy have something to tell you. And she’s what? She was just happy to have the teddy bear. The rabbit we’re like, mommy and daddy tell you that mommy has a baby in her belly. And I see the shock on her face. She’s just looking at us like in shock. What? Like I’ll never forget, I’m just crying, but it was a joyful cry.
It wasn’t like, ’cause I’ve cried too many tears of pain, yeah. So we and all the people in Builder Bear just clapping, just so happy, and she was like, oh my goodness, I’m gonna be a big sister. And so they say, you wanna record a special message? I remember she went, I the back of the room, on the back of the store, Thor, she recorded. She said, no matter what you are, no matter what you’ll be, I will always love you. Your big sister i’ll be, she recorded on her own thought of it on her own. And it’s just this is what she wanted and was like, we gave her gift. We received two gifts. Gifts. We’re able to give her a gift. It’s priceless.
Jamie: Beautiful moment.
La-Anna: Yeah.
Jamie: So now you’re pregnant and you’re 34 weeks. How, and do you have a scheduled C-section for this? What happened?
La-Anna: Yes. So because of my scar tissue and the double uterus and everything, but I’ve had so many surgeries at that point, I had four surgeries. They didn’t want me to my uterus to contract. So that’s why they had to schedule C-section. But leading up to that point, I was having Braxton Hicks, but then it started to get stronger and I’m like calling the, my doctor and telling him. And I have a system on MyChart where I could actually send a message on my phone to my doctor.
And I’m saying, I’m having attractions like, it feels like contractions to me, but I know this is early. And they were like we need to go send you to labor and delivery because we couldn’t take any chances because of my history and all the surgeries. So I went to labor and delivery one time and it was a false alarm.
I went to labor and delivery again. It was a false alarm. The third time I go to labor and delivery and they say we’re gonna give you a couple of shots to try to slow down your contractions. They gave me two shots and the contractions keep coming. They keep coming. So they tell my husband, you need to rush home and get your things because we’re just gonna go ahead and move forward with C-section.
So that’s why I had her at 34 weeks and six days. They really wanted me to get to 36 weeks. But my uterus is, they just started contract. One thing I also wanna say, when you have a di uterus, like I said, it’s two separate wounds, but you have both uterus can contract. So it’s two separate systems.
So I remember my first pregnancy having an epidural, and the epidural box wasn’t working. And I remember once they got the epidural box working, my left side was completely young, numb, but my right side wasn’t. So my right uterus was still contracting so I could feel all the contractions.
Oh, so it’s still Yeah, because it’s two separate systems, but it’s like they have the same mind, if that makes sense. Yeah. And so the second time around having the c-section do you, I don’t know, do you want me to tell you this what happened during the C-section?
Jamie: Yeah, of course. Yeah.
La-Anna: Yeah. During the C-section they had to put me on magnesium because of the preeclampsia. And so magnesium makes you feel like you’re having a sunburn from the inside out. You’re just so hot. So you’re already have, I’m on all these medications, the magnesium contracting, all those things. So they get me in the OR and they’re putting the epidural in and I’m feeling like I’m gonna pass out. I’m so hot. My blood pressure is sky high. So what raised my blood pressure when I was in triage, let me back up, was the anesthesiologist and the doctors were coming in, okay, we’re getting you prepped for surgery.
You need you to fill out this paperwork. And they said, do you know that we may have to cut you vertically? I said, what? I said, no, no one ever told me that. What? So that made my blood pressure go up. ’cause I was just in shock. And I said, because of your double uterus your prior surgeries, you may have too much scar tissue going horizontally, so we may have to cut you up and down vertically.
And I was in shock. I was. I was panicking wait, I never knew that. You’re telling me now. And it wasn’t their fault, they’re just doing what is best for me. But I just didn’t know that was my options, that no, there was no options, that this was the way they were gonna do it. And so we get in the OR and they start prepping for surgery. They put the gown, the coverup and everything. And my husband comes in. I remember my husband coming from the left hand side and putting his face right up against my face because I was so scared. The C-section, that was the one thing I was just so nervous about, besides Anaya having, probably they were saying when I have Down syndrome, thank God she did not. And so the anesthesiologist on my right side, my husband’s on my face and it’s two doctors and they’re prepping and I could feel them. They’re saying we’re gonna start cutting. And I could feel this part, but it’s not like horrible.
I could just feel them pinching to make sure I’m numb. And so they begin cutting and I start feeling like tugging. And then I’m feeling so much pressure that I could fill it up in my lungs and I can remember them saying, I could hear them saying, there’s so much scar tissue, we’re gonna have to cut up so vertically. They didn’t have to cut me vertically outside, but I still don’t know if they cut vertically inside because I could feel it all the way like up here, all so much pressure. And they’re like, yeah, see this scar, see this lesion here, this scar tissue. Okay, wait, we’re gonna have to cut. And I could just hear all of that.
And the anesthesia, I was just looking over. The curtain and saying, Mr. Douglas, it’s okay. Because I’m like the, that feeling, that pressure, I don’t ever wanna feel again. Yeah. I can’t explain it. It’s not painful, but it’s not comfortable at all. And he’s, he keeps, but it’s okay. It’s okay. ’cause he know come whatever he’s seeing, he could see it on my face, what I’m feeling.
Jamie: So you’re panicking.
La-Anna: And so i’m panicking. Yeah. So he can tell, he’s it’s okay. It’s okay. And my husband is, he will not leave my face. He’s talking to me, he’s praying in my ear. Like he’s like right there. And I remember them coming. She’s out. And her coming from around the curtain and seeing her face, it was like everything else went away.
Like everything else, it doesn’t matter. I don’t care who’s here. All we could see was her face and that little cry. It’s. A memory I will never forget. Like never
Jamie: how sweet.
La-Anna: So sweet.
Jamie: Wow. So how was your recovery afterwards?
La-Anna: Oh, it was almost like when I had the laparoscopic robotic myomectomy that ’cause of the, all the things that were cut and, what they, the layers had to go through. Even though it was a laparoscopic surgery, it was still, I couldn’t stand up. Straight right away. Also, with the C-section being cut, all the gases that I guess they put inside or the air, I would have pain running down my arm because the, like the gas in the air was stuck here. Yeah. They would give me chewing gum. I’m like, why are they giving me chewing gum every time I would chew the chewing gum. That gas would subside, it would come out. It was just weird.
Jamie: Yeah.
La-Anna: Yeah. And I was, I would not pressure myself, but encourage myself laying come on. The nurses would tell me also, but I would say, let’s get up and walk. I would walk with my husband up and down the hallway just to get myself moving. He was still, he would gimme my shower initially and then I started while he’s standing there, showering myself as much as I can. So it was just, I felt in a good place, even though just had the C-section. But I felt in a good place it’s okay, keep moving.
You can do this. You’ve gone through so much, you’re gonna get through this also. So it was the whole process. Postpartum lead was really good. We had a great team. Everyone from the doctors down to the housekeepers, those that brought food, everyone was just wonderful at John Hopkins, everyone. So we were really grateful.
Jamie: Did you have to stay longer because they cut you vertically?
La-Anna: Yes. I stayed for five days especially since they wanted to make sure Anaya was fine, so they kept her in the nursery, but she wasn’t hooked to any tubes or anything like that. And they said, if you wanna stay, I think after the third day they said, if you wanna stay for two more days, that’s fine. We can still monitor your blood pressure. My blood pressure was still on the high side, but with medications and the IV and things like that, it was, lowering.
And then I was able to stay while she was in the nursery, and then on the fifth day we were discharged.
Jamie: What was it like leaving with your second daughter?
La-Anna: So happy? Just still it almost felt like a dream. And it’s still, to this day, I still look at her and I’m like, I can’t believe you’re here. It’s just unimaginable With the story and the journey we’ve been on like that, we, none alone have one but two children, Uhhuh. It’s just, so leaving the hospital, we were just happy, we were grateful.
We gave the nurses and doctors baskets of food and little treats just to say, thank you. You’re a part of our journey. Yeah, we were just so grateful and happy.
Jamie: That’s great. And how were you able to breastfeed this time?
La-Anna: Yes, so with assisted the, it’s called a what do you call it? It’s a plastic cover that you put over your nipple. And then I’m able to, I’m able to breast, I was able to breastfeed that way because my nipples are flat, so I needed just a little something that would help my nipple to pop out
Jamie: Uhhuh, and
La-Anna: I was able to breastfeed for a month and a half. Oh, that’s great. Yeah. And pump
Jamie: was your supply just not able to keep up?
La-Anna: So we got to a point at a month and a half, it was getting painful for me, I think with the nipple cover and the stress of, okay, I’m trying to breastfeed, and she would latch, but the milk wasn’t coming down as much as it was in the beginning. So with much, thought and talking to my husband, he was like, look, it’s going to be fine. We’ll just get formula. It’s okay. And I had some milk supply that was frozen. So we decided to, I decided to stop Yeah. Breastfeeding with the plastic cover. Yeah. And she was totally fine. She’s still totally fine with formula. Good.
Jamie: That’s so good. And mentally how were you afterwards during postpartum?
La-Anna: I had some moments of postpartum depression. I did, I was feeling like I was by myself. I was having those same feelings of when I was going through infertility, if that makes sense.
The first time around and I was feeling like I’m the only one going through this. I’m just me and the baby and it’s all about me and the baby, and that’s it.
And I was feeling not I loved, but no one cares about me. That’s how I was feeling. Postpartum depression is something that’s a little, I don’t know how to explain it. You’re like, you’re doubting yourself or thinking that no one loves you and everyone’s here, everyone’s around you. My husband’s parents flew in and my parents are there and, family are, coming by and, checking on us, and I’m still feeling, oh my gosh, look, no one cares.
It’s a weird feeling. And I think for me, it’s still, and I say this all the time now, even though I’m a mom of two, when you go through infertility or reproductive health issues. That isn’t just shut off. It doesn’t just go away. Those painful days and negative pregnancy tests and surgeries and IVF treatments, it doesn’t just okay, I have a mom now.
That’s it. No, it still stays with you and it’s not that you’re dwelling on those situations, but it’s been a part of your life. Like it, some of the decisions and things that you went through created, it created who I am now. It helped, it’s part of that, the strength that I have now.
The decisions I make now being a go-getter, being someone that’s I’m not gonna take no for an answer. ’cause the old me would’ve said this, I guess I’m not gonna ever be a mother. I guess I’m not woman enough now. I’m like, no, I’m worthy. I am a woman. I am strong. If I had children, if I was married or not, if I had this job, if I lived in this house or if I drove this, it doesn’t matter. I’m still enough as I am. So it’s I hope I, I’m explaining that correctly or that it understood what I’m trying to say. It just stays with you.
Jamie: Yeah.
La-Anna: Yeah.
Jamie: Was there anything that helped you through that?
La-Anna: Definitely much prayer for me. Prayer, talking about it. For years I suffered in silence. I didn’t really talk about it. I felt like no one understood what I was going through. And talking about it really helps reaching out to others the second time, going through secondary infertility. There was so many advocacy groups. There were so many women that were talking about their stories while going through infertility, while going through infertility treatments and fertility treatments.
The first time I didn’t know anybody, like any advocacy groups. I didn’t know anyone at that time. So when I would see other people pregnant, I felt like, how can I talk to you about what I’m going through? Because you’re a mom now. You’re pregnant, you’re, you got children. So I didn’t know that I could still reach out to someone.
Jamie: Yeah.
La-Anna: But now, the second time around it was so many advocates, there was so many platforms that I could reach out to, so many support groups that I could reach out to my family, my, my sister, my cousins, and even my husband talking to my husband about how I was feeling, him talking to me about how he was feeling.
We always hear the woman’s perspective, but what about what the men are going through? How they may feel, how they have to be strong for us. We have to hear his side of the story also.
Jamie: Do you have any plans to have more kids in your forties?
La-Anna: No, we are done. I feel like after all that we’ve gone through, we have our two children. At the age I am now and just all that we’ve endured. I’m good. Anaya our second daughter, Anaya Grace was a surprise. She was our surprise baby. Anana Olivia was surprised too, but we literally just thought, we’re not having any more children. We’re just gonna have one. Yeah. So we are good. We have our two, our family is complete. We have our little, our dog Dallas, our son, we call him our son. And we’re good. We’re happy.
Jamie: Perfect. What has been your biggest challenge being pregnant in your forties?
La-Anna: My body as in like my, especially my back and my legs. After, actually during my pregnancy, having back pain, knee pain, and then my ankles.
Now, after having her. It’s like my back pain comes and goes. The knee pain comes and goes. My ankles sometimes give out, like I used to be able to move a little bit faster. Now I’m moving a little bit slower. Like it’s a big difference between the first pregnancy and the second pregnancy. My body is slow down. Yeah. Slow down.
Jamie: Is there anything you’d recommend that would help prepare someone for pregnancy and birth in their forties?
La-Anna: I would say to maybe reach out to a mental health specialist, a psychiatrist. Just have that person be a part of your journey. And also seek out a chiropractor during your pregnancy.
Seeing a chiropractor now after having the baby, but. It doesn’t hurt to talk to a chiropractor or a physical therapist about joints, about your back pain, things like that. Because I just didn’t think that I would have issues with my back after having, our second child in my forties.
I just didn’t think that would be a problem. But it’s getting better. The chiropractor is doing great work, cracking my back and heat therapy and cool therapy and things like that. So it has made a difference and that’s like I said earlier, I’m still sleeping my pregnancy pillow and it helps a lot.
Jamie: That’s great.
What advice would you give yourself when you were pregnant, if you could go back?
La-Anna: To love yourself just as you are, to never let pregnancy be your only goal in life, because you are enough. As you are. There’s so much greatness in you. You are beautiful just as you are. You’re so smart and strong. Don’t lose hope. Don’t give up on yourself. That’s what I would tell myself if I could go back.
Jamie: Beautiful. And where can our listeners find you on the internet?
La-Anna: Yes, I’m on Instagram at Hope still stands. H-O-P-E-S-T-I-L-S-T-A-N-D-S. Hope still stands, and I’m on Facebook at Hope Still stands, llc.
Jamie: I love it. Lana, you have a crazy, beautiful story. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
La-Anna: Thank you so much, Jamie. I appreciate you.