Harper Renee

Photo by NILMDTS Affiliated Photographer Erin Lackey

I’ve wanted to be a mama since I was a little girl. When I found out I was pregnant in July 2025, I had so many mixed emotions. I was incredibly excited, but of course, I was nervous too. Shortly after, we found out we were having a baby girl. We were so happy and already loved her so much.

I was extremely sick every day from about seven weeks until 16 weeks. It was horrible, but I kept reminding myself that it would all be worth it when I got to meet our baby girl.

At my 20-week anatomy scan, everything seemed okay at first. The ultrasound technician was having trouble getting a good view of my cervix, so I drank some water and laid on my side. She eventually asked us to wait in the waiting area while she showed the images to the radiologist.

When she called my boyfriend and me back into the room, she told us, “I can’t tell you why, but you need to head to Labor and Delivery ASAP.”

I immediately started freaking out.

A High-Risk Pregnancy

When we got to the hospital, they checked my cervix and discovered I was already 1 1/2 centimeters dilated.

I was rushed by ambulance to a hospital two hours away for emergency surgery. The doctors needed to place a stitch around my cervix to …