♪♪ ♪♪ Jessica:
[ Exhales ] I always get nervous
whenever we see the baby just 'cause it, like,
makes it real. Yeah?
I always get excited. I'm like, "Oh,
it's really in there!" Jessica: As much as I am happy
to be pregnant and I love being
a mother, I'm terrified. I've been through
a lot of crap in my life, so I feel like I can get through
anything at this point, but I still get scared. Hi.
How are you today? I'm good.
How are you? Good.
Come on in. Today is the appointment
where we talk about the genetics and the possible
genetic problems that could exist with the baby. It's important to do this
a this time of the pregnancy because if there's
going to be problems, then it's important to know,
especially in my situation, with being high-risk
in a high-risk pregnancy. Hey. Hey, there.
How's it going? Good.
Dr. Miller. Jessica. Good to meet you. Good to meet you both.
Have a seat. Thank you. So one of the purposes
of today's appointment is to determine
if you are at increased risk of having a baby
with genetic defects, so... So if it's okay --
Todd, you said, right? Yes. If I could ask you
a few questions about your past
medical history... Of course. Jessica: There's so many
different birth defects that run
in the Kingston families. We've got people
with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy,
kidney problems, heart problems. Well, let's turn
to you, Jessica, and let's talk about
your past family history -- any relatives
you can think of that were born
with congenital problems, chromosomal problems,
birth defects. Problem is, is there's,
like, everything, but there's just
so many people. There's, like, my dad. So in my biological family,
I have, like, 180-plus siblings. My biological dad
has 14 wives, and my biological mom
has 12 children, but I've left that, and now I am adopted
into a new family, but I know, for this, you need
to get my biological history. And that kind of complicates
the picture a little bit because you probably have
a little bit of everything amongst those
several siblings. And they don't always
go to the doctor. It's very rare
if they go to the doctor. I see. So my family history is,
like, very convoluted. Is preeclampsia something
that's genetic? If family members have had it,
that puts you at risk, as well. Growing up in polygamy,
they always told us, if we left, that we would be cursed or something wrong would
happen with our pregnancies, and so I feel like I know I've already taken all
the preventative measures I can at this point,
but, like, I don't get it because
of anything I'm doing, right? That's what I'm wondering. Exactly, yeah. Nothing you're doing has put you
at increased risk for it, so... I've been hiding my pregnancy
from people in The Order from finding out because
if anything goes wrong, all they're going to do
is jump up and say, "It's because
you left The Order," and that has absolutely nothing
to do with leaving The Order, but I don't need to give them
validating experiences and validating information
for them to say, "If you leave The Order,
God's going to torture you." Really, I'm being blessed
for not being in The Order. Todd: Yep, this is
the fun part. Miller: Let's listen
to some heartbeat. [ Thumping ] That's always a nice
sound, isn't it? Always. I think about my biological
mother, Heidi, and her pregnancies. My mom has 12 children, and not
once have I ever seen her go to the doctor to get medical
care for her pregnancies, and every single one of
her children were born at home. I remember the birth of the last
six of her children. It kind of felt like us kids
and Heidi against the world, and then Daniel would show up,
but then he'd pop back out. Like, he'd show up, play house
for a day, and then leave. Me having Todd and me
having a husband that actually
is attentive and there, I didn't even know what a good
husband would bring to my life, but I look at her life, and I think she just doesn't
quite know what she's missing. So the size of the baby,
looking good, heart rate, fluid,
lots of baby movement. So those are
the four key things we want to see today
on ultrasound, and I'm really happy
with what we saw. And the heart rate
and everything, all that's good? Heart rate was great. Yeah. You're already doing
the right things, and I'm excited for you,
though, so... Thanks. Talking to an actual doctor and having a doctor kind of calm
some of that and help me realize I'm doing everything
I can to be the best mom and have the best situation and the most
healthiest pregnancy, then it makes me feel
better about everything. They drew my blood
for the genetic testing, and always hoping for
great results, and so far, I have two healthy babies and
everything was great with them, so I'm hopeful that there's not
going to be any problems. Every time I see the baby,
I just -- my nerves are calmed. Yeah. And we're doing what
we're supposed to be doing.
