It wasn’t weight but my baby
Filipina housemaid, 45, only thought she was gaining pounds
Forty-five-year-old Filipina housemaid Aurelia Partido had had the biggest surprise of her life as she gave birth to a girl a few days back.
Partido arrived in Bahrain in February to work as maid in a Bahraini household. She did not know that she was pregnant. A medical checkup in the Philippines had given no such indication and she decided to go ahead with her plans to work in Bahrain.
By April, she realised something was amiss but her sponsor ignored her appeals to see a doctor.
The surprise came on November 8. The baby girl, weighing five pounds was delivered at the Salmaniya Medical Complex. There were no complications.
It wasn’t weight but my baby
Filipina housemaid, 45, only thought she was gaining pounds
Forty-five-year-old Filipina housemaid Aurelia Partido had had the biggest surprise of her life as she gave birth to a girl a few days back.
Partido arrived in Bahrain in February to work as maid in a Bahraini household. She did not know that she was pregnant. A medical checkup in the Philippines had given no such indication and she decided to go ahead with her plans to work in Bahrain.
By April, she realised something was amiss but her sponsor ignored her appeals to see a doctor.
The surprise came on November 8. The baby girl, weighing five pounds was delivered at the Salmaniya Medical Complex. There were no complications.
Partido has not christened the girl. But nurses at the SMC have been fondly calling her “Sarah”.
“I never thought I would bear a child; I have been married for over 10 years. The thought of pregnancy never came to my mind. I did feel awkward with frequent body pains and headaches, I even took some medication. In fact, I did not look pregnant at all; it only seemed that I had gained weight,” Partido told the Tribune.
“I requested my sponsor to take me to hospital when I could bear it any longer, but they refused. In September however, they took me to doctor and my pregnancy was confirmed. By October during the Ramadan, I had grown twice my size and I could not move very well,” she said.
The sponsor has accused Partido of immorality, suggesting that she might have allowed a man into the house. But, hospital records confirm that the pregnancy lasted the full nine months i.e. the duration of Partido’s stay in Bahrain – since February.
“She is beautiful; I never knew I would ever experience motherhood, but here she is. She is such a blessing to both of us. Now, I just want to take her home,” Partido said.
Embassy officials are negotiating with the sponsor who have reportedly refused to shoulder travel expenses for both mother and child.
“The sponsors are insisting that Aurelia stay and allow someone else to accompany the baby to the Philippines. This cannot be done. Travel documents will be issued for the baby. And the mother is the only one who can accompany the child. We are negotiating for them to shoulder the plane ticket to Manila,” an official said.
Article from: Bahrain Tribune Newspaper- www.BahrainTribune.com
