Self-employed members rely on CHM family during a rare pregnancy complication, By Suzanne Morgan, Mooresville, N.C.

*Editor’s note: This information was published in the December 2022 issue of Heartfelt Magazine, CHM’s monthly magazine that provides CHM membership-related tips and tricks, medical advice from doctors, testimonies from CHM members, and more. Please refer to the CHM Guidelines and applicable web pages for the most up-to-date information regarding CHM membership, sharing eligibility, and ministry news.*

I joined CHM because it was a cost-effective option for us, and it follows biblical principles. My sister and her family also were members and had nothing negative to say. For three years, I didn’t need CHM—until one day, I got the surprising news I was pregnant.

A few days later, I felt an extremely sharp pain in my side, nearly making me pass out. I went for an ultrasound, during which my provider saw a normal pregnancy in my uterus but a lot of blood in my pelvis. They rushed me back for surgery.

Surgery revealed I was pregnant with twins, but one was ectopic (ectopic pregnancies are non-viable—meaning fatal to the baby—because the child can’t develop and grow outside the uterus). This was causing internal bleeding. It’s rare to have a healthy pregnancy and ectopic pregnancy at the same time. After having a fallopian tube removal, I recovered, and the pregnancy safely contained within my uterus continued normally.

At 34 weeks, we went on a family beach trip in a different state. On our first day, my water broke. I was admitted to the local hospital on a Monday evening and given steroid shots to help our baby’s little lungs mature. Our son, Isaac, made his debut early Wednesday morning. He was a preemie, so he spent nine days in the NICU.

Given the circumstances, I called the CHM office, and everyone I talked with was extremely helpful and kind. CHM staff explained exactly what to do when I received bills and how to handle my unexpected delivery at a different facility and with different providers. All my questions were answered, and staff prayed with me. 

CHM gives us the opportunity to be self-employed; otherwise, my husband would have needed a job with benefits. CHM also enabled us to adjust our budget to pursue adoption and allows me to be home with our adopted, and medically fragile, daughter.

There’s peace in knowing other Christians are sharing your burden financially and praying for you during tough times. I struggled making the switch to CHM because I worried we would go bankrupt with a crazy medical incident. I’ve since learned CHM provides a peace that only God can bring.