Anti-AIDS Crusader Asunta Wagura: how I conceived my Baby Joshua

Asunta Wagura, a well known Kenyan anti-HIV/AIDS crusader, has lived with the disease for many years. She spoke to Anne Kigathi and Emma Odaba, about her momentus journey to getting her own baby.

‘For three years I planned on getting a baby. Whenever I passed by the streets and saw women holding theirs, it would get to me and I would ask God, ‘Why me? Why can’t I have a baby of my own?’

One day I watched television as the media focused on fetuses, discarded along Mombasa Road in Nairobi. I wondered why God could not give me those babies … ‘

So desperate I was to have a baby, that I involved a group of intercessors to pray for me. I told them how badly I needed one, and their answer to me was that God had answered my prayer. Though I believed them, my age was a discouraging factor; it made me fear that I may already be too old to conceive or deliver a healthy baby. I thought of a woman like Sarah in the Bible; I wondered if she took any fertility supplements because her story says that she waited for years before getting Isaac.

Moreover, I also thought of Hannah, also in the Bible; she just prayed and God answered her prayer. This made me curious to know exactly what should happened, for God to intervene. I went ahead and bought musical cassettes. One of them had a song that stated, ‘God if you can listen to me, give me a boy.’ It was a song I played every day. I was desperate. Both faith and science would become my anchor, in my quest to conceive.

It took me three years to finally conceive baby Joshua. It was quite a struggle to plan the pregnancy. I had to ascertain whether my anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs were suitable during conception. The drugs I was taking at the time were not ideal, so I changed to a more baby-friendly type of ARV. Because of the change of drugs, my CD4 levels dropped to 300. I worked on the CD4 levels until it reached 412.

The doctor then told me that at that point, it was safe for me to conceive. I also had to do a viral load test – which is a key thing. When I was changing my ARVs, my viral load was at 28,000 ml of blood. I worked on it and by the time my CD4 count was 412, the viral load was at an undetectable level. This meant that the chances of transmission of HIV from me to the baby were low.

The next hurdle was conception. My partner and I had been living together for two years and he knew I wanted a baby. He too went for a CD4 count; his was at 800, which was approved. My partner did not have a problem with the planned pregnancy. However, I was not ready to go for artificial insemination; therefore he had to agree to be exposed to unprotected sex. I wanted him to produce quality sperm; those were the conditions that he had to agree to before we got together. That was the only way to ensure that everything worked. I knew alcohol would interfere with his system so I requested him to avoid it for the time being.

From the internet, I had read that I needed to take a lot of vitamin C and avoid coffee. I was eating fruits and a balanced diet with lots of fibre, and foods that are rich in Beta-carotene. After a month, I knew I had conceived. I was so anxious to get pregnant, that I was taking fertility supplements and at the same time learning how one can tell she is pregnant (from the internet), by self examination.

When I went to the hospital for a pregnancy test, the doctor told me it was too early to tell. Regardless, I was monitoring my body temperature, and my conscience convinced me that I was indeed pregnant. I bought a pregnancy test kit and did a self-test which turned positive. I was over-excited. For the first time in many years, I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that I was beautiful. I started counting down the days and I would reduce each day by one. I noted everything down in my diary because I was very anxious.

For the first time in many years, I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that I was beautiful. I started counting days and I would reduce each day by one. I noted everything down in my diary because I was very anxious.

My pregnancy craved sugar cane and guavas. I would send friends and colleagues to help me source for them, as both sugar cane and guavas were hardly found in the nearby markets. During the last weeks of my pregnancy, I craved stones and pure calcium. I would eat a packet of the pure calcium tablets in a day. I enjoyed the taste. Joshua developed very well. From the internet, I would supplement the information that the doctor gave me. I researched a lot because getting pregnant for me, a project.

I went for the routine antenatal check-up, and was told that the baby was growing well in my womb. The reality of my pregnancy with my HIV positive status sent some cold shivers down my spine. For this reason I ensured that I got all the necessary medication and advice from my antenatal doctor. I never thought of medicating myself at anyone point. I had miscarried earlier in life, so I did not want to take any chances. The pregnancy generally was smooth. I was put on the pregnancy supplements like any other normal woman: pregnacare, calcium and folic. I took them religiously until I delivered.

At four months, the baby had not started to kick, a reason to worry! The doctor advised me to be patient. Shortly the kicks came and with it, joy.

The last trimester was a bit tiring. I think my age also contributed because it gets more challenging to carry a pregnancy when you are older. My doctor and I had planned that I would go for a Caesarean section. There was no debate on that and financially I had planned for it. I was still taking my ARVs and I continued doing so until the day I was going to the theatre.

A week before I delivered, I travelled to Zambia for a conference. The conference took four days and I was just praying that the baby would not come while I was in the aeroplane. When I landed back at our international airport, I thanked God because I knew in case of anything, that I was at home and my doctor would be ready to attend to me.

Three days upon my return from Zambia, I checked into hospital where I underwent an operation. When I came out of the theatre I was frantic! I wanted to see the baby immediately because I wanted to be sure that he had survived. I felt if the baby did not make it, I will not survive! Both my partner and my sister had seen the baby, but I did not want to get information from them.

I thought they had conspired to lie to me. I insisted that I wanted to see the baby until they brought him to me. It was only after seeing the baby that I managed to sleep. When Joshua was born, he was a healthy boy who weighed three kilograms. The doctors gave me a drug to immediately stop the flow of milk from my breasts and took over the feeding of the baby with formula milk. After birth the baby immediately received some prophylaxis. The drug administration spanned every four hours over six weeks.

The moment to take Joshua for the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test came,  which would determine if he had contacted the virus or not. It was the worst moment in my life. I consoled myself that I had not breastfed him. However, as the time of reckoning arrived I felt as if I had not taken all the necessary precautions before conceiving. Confirmation of his HIV negative status brought great thrill!

I had a lot of fears and I do not know what I would have done if he had tested positive. It would definitely have had an impact on Kenya Network of Women with AIDS (KENWA) and affect the programmes. I was considering very many things and so I had to take the challenge.

At the moment, Joshua plays with my breasts all the time; he does not allow me to sleep well. He has to sleep on my chest and pretends that he is breastfeeding.

My advice to HIV positive women is that they should not get pregnant blindly. Significant financial, physical and emotional considerations emerge. Also, in as much as there is a chance of getting a baby who is HIV negative, there is also a possibility of getting a baby who is HIV positive. Psychological preparedness is critical. For those with HIV positive babies, my advice is that they remain strong, and make use of the treatment available- as well as administer good nutrition. I know of a baby who was born with the HIV virus but he is now an adult. He got the virus from his mother,  but she was very cautious in bringing him up. Upon a cold or any other slight infection, she got him under treatment immediately. The boy is now 18 years old.

Dreams for Joshua

I wish he will serve the community – especially the marginalised, the poor and the orphaned. I need to build his capacity in order to prepare him for that. He may not have much choice but to serve people. Once he grows up, he will learn that this is why I gave him the name Joshua; because Joshua in the Bible was a selfless leader.

END: PG 11 /8-9