WINDHAM (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- According to the latest numbers from the CDC, about 10 percent of women in the United States, which is 6.1 million of them, have difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant. It can be one of the hardest things any couple can go through, but sometimes, there's a happy ending.
John and Joan Baldwin from Windham have hard a long and winding road to parenthood. They met when they were in kindergarten, re-connected later in life, married in 2014 and shortly after, Joan became pregnant with a girl who they named Maeve.
As the delivery date approached, Maeve's heart stopped beating. The next day, Joan gave birth to her still-born daughter.
"We got pregnant with Maeve on the first try, so to have her die at full term and to lose her like that was devastating." remembers Joan. "When you lose a baby, not a lot of couples survive that"
Joan and Jon decided to try again but this time getting pregnant wasn't easy. Infertility treatments were not working... A friend mentioned there was a contest on YouTube where one couple would win the money to pay for in vitro fertilization, a roughly 15-thousand dollar procedure that's cost prohibitive for most. The Baldwins entered, and won.
"I just felt like if we kept trying and kept trying, then it had to happen"
Vera Mae Baldwin was born on Fathers Day.
"I can't believe we get to take her home.. she's so healthy and she's such a happy baby, I love her so much, I really didn't think we'd get here... ever" said Joan.
The Baldwins have shared a lot of their experiences on social media and have tens of thousands of followers. To learn more about them and their journey, click here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR2zpUNz5TWrj1ke2NzTNQA