Imagine giving birth to twin boys, overcoming postpartum depression, and finding out you are pregnant again. Today’s guest experienced that plus more. Chavalia Dunlap-Mwaba found out when her twin boys were 3 years old that she was expecting. Her 3rd son had a congenital heart defect that would require surgery immediately upon birth. After meeting with specialists and doctors out of town assuring her baby would be in great hands at birth, she was unable to deliver there and had to go to local hospital and deliver via cesarean. Her baby boy was born and was unable to be resuscitated. In this episode Chavalia takes us back to that moment of carrying her lifeless but warm child back to her hospital room. She shares how she told her twin boys and how she healed from her loss. This episode is for you to listen to if you have experienced a congenital heart defect loss, or postpartum depression after loss.
Chavalia Dunlap-Mwaba’s Bio
I am a niche fragrance designer from Texas, specializing in scented dates for the skin by way of Eau de Parfum, flirtatious conversations for the air by way of fragrance sprays and essential oil diffuser blends. I am a mother of twin boys, and the pregnancy was a breeze, but once they were born, I suffered from post-partum depression. I always felt it would never happen to me, but when it did, it hit like a ton of bricks. Being a new mother of twins who were both extremely colicky, on top of suffering from depression was nothing short of a challenge within itself. Fast forward to my twins being 3, I find out I’m pregnant once more. This pregnancy was quite different because my 3rd born son was diagnosed with a complex, congenital heart defect that would require surgery immediately upon birth. My husband and I were spoken to in depth from specialists, telling us they wouldn’t know how intricate the surgery would be until our baby boy arrived, but we would be in great hands because of where we were scheduled to deliver (which was out of town). At my last local sonogram, my baby’s APGAR scores were a 2, so an emergency c-section was scheduled. I wanted to be airlifted, but the doctors refused stating that due to the severity of the situation, I had to deliver at the local hospital. When resuscitation proved to be unsuccessful for our baby to be stable enough for transport, numbness flooded my body. Carrying a lifeless yet still warm baby to my hospital room was a feeling that will forever haunt me, along with the delivering doctor’s last words to me prior.
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