It started with what I thought was just a stubborn fever…

Do you remember your first pregnancy? Where are all my mothers at?! 😄

I remember mine very vividly.

At the time, I was doing my internship and working in a very busy Emergency Room. I kept having what I thought was a fever… and that familiar Nigerian symptom – internal heat 😄

I ignored it and kept going. (Disclaimer: please don’t do this! 😄)

Then things got worse.

Every time I smelt perfume, I would throw up.
I had a constant unpleasant taste in my mouth.

Naturally, I thought – malaria!

Matters came to a head when I practically shut down my kitchen.

I couldn’t stand the smell of anything in it. Vanilla, strawberry, banana… all the baking essences suddenly became unbearable. Every visit to the kitchen ended with me throwing up in the bathroom 😦

But the bathroom was not safe either.
Even the scent of my detergent became offensive!

At that point, a small voice in my medically trained brain finally asked:

“Could you be pregnant?”

I was shocked.

My husband was in Port Harcourt, I was finishing my internship… and I certainly hadn’t planned to do pregnancy alone!

Eventually, I went to check.

Not the most orthodox way 😄… I went straight for a scan.

And yes – I was pregnant.

Since then, I always empathise when I hear stories of women who didn’t realise they were pregnant early on.

For a first-time mother especially, it’s not always obvious what to look out for.

And just to put things in perspective…

I am a medical doctor… and I didn’t even know I was pregnant 😄

Mothers, when did you first realise you were pregnant…especially the first time?