No Cheers for My Daughter’s Birth — But Now, the Whole World Sees Her Light
“I was ready for the tears, the flowers, the warm hugs,” said Lena Harper, recalling the birth of her daughter, Mira. “But when she arrived… silence.”
It was the fall of 2019, and Lena, a 29-year-old art teacher from Oregon, had just gone through what was supposed to be one of the most joyful moments of her life — giving birth to her first child. But joy was not the first emotion she felt.
Mira came into the world quietly — not because she didn’t cry, but because no one in the delivery room knew what to say. The nurses exchanged uncertain glances. The doctor took an extra beat before speaking. And Lena, exhausted and still trembling from labor, clutched her baby with a strange mixture of love… and fear.
