I was still tired but now hungry all the time. I saw the specialist in tropical medicine and he assured me that since the fever was finished before I conceived, it was unlikely that there would be any effect. He wasn't sure about the medication. After talking to two obstetricians, I was reassured that the risk for birth defects was low. Then came the ultrasound and everything was normal at nine weeks. Then I returned to Vietnam at 12 weeks and out of the danger zone for miscarriage. It was a lot of fun telling our friends and colleagues about our pregnancy. We had another ultrasound at 15 weeks and all was still normal.
All through this time (13 weeks on) I was very conscious of eating well and taking supplements to keep my energy up. I also did low impact exercises at home to keep my spirits up, my weight in the range, and to build my strength. I subscribed to every email newsletter I could to keep me up to date on the development of the baby. Sharing this news with my husband also kept him involved. At 16 weeks I started to feel the first big kicks - reassuring me that all was well on the inside. I felt great - good enough to travel to Cambodia and Laos at 21 weeks.
