Twice the challenge, twice the blessing - Blackwood-Mott earns master’s degree while navigating high-risk twin pregnancy

For Aaliyah Blackwood-Mott, completing a master’s degree while navigating a high-risk twin pregnancy was a test of endurance that demanded far more than academic discipline. It required resilience, sacrifice, faith, and an unwavering determination to see through a dream she had worked hard to realise.

In the final semester of her Master of Science in Human Resource Development programme at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, she discovered she was expecting twins. What initially appeared to be an unexpected but manageable development soon became a physically and emotionally demanding journey, as complications associated with the pregnancy threatened to derail her plans.

Yet, despite the mounting uncertainty, she remained steadfast in her resolve to finish what she had started.

The possibility of twins was not foreign to her family, but becoming a mother to two babies at once had never crossed her mind.

“My mother is a twin, so twins are part of my family history, but I never imagined that I would be having twins myself,” Blackwood-Mott told The Gleaner.

Having already completed a Bachelor of Science in Management Studies with first-class honours, she approached her master’s studies with clear professional ambitions. Working in human resources, she recognised the value of further developing her expertise and positioning herself for greater opportunities in people management.

ACADEMIC FOUNDATION

Her academic foundation was forged at St Aloysius Primary School and Wolmer’s High School for Girls, where she earned nine Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) subjects and eight Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) units.

Blackwood-Mott posits that the Wolmer’s motto, ‘Age Quod Agis’ (‘Whatever you do, do it well’) became a guiding principle that continued to shape her approach to life.

But the final stretch of her postgraduate studies would test just how firmly she held to that philosophy.

While balancing full-time work and her studies, which required her to attend classes three days a week, she travelled from St Catherine to UWI after work, often spending more than two hours in peak-hour traffic each way. The commute was made considerably more difficult by persistent pregnancy sickness.

There were days when simply getting to class was a triumph in itself.

She recalled sitting a statistics mid-semester examination despite feeling extremely unwell. She shared that she was unable to drive herself to the university that day. Her husband had to take the wheel, and the journey was particularly unpleasant.

“I was literally in the car throwing up into an envelope on the way there. When I arrived, I washed my mouth out with mouthwash and went straight into the examination. None of my classmates even knew I was pregnant at the time,” she told The Gleaner.

That, Blackwood-Mott asserts, stands as a testament to her determination to press on with her studies, despite the increasing physical demands placed on her.

Her social life was among the first sacrifices surrendered to her ambitions. Between work, classes, medical appointments, and assignments, there was little room for anything else.

The emotional strain intensified when her grandmother’s health began to deteriorate. Shortly afterwards, at seven months pregnant, Blackwood-Mott was admitted to hospital.

The doctors explained that she could potentially deliver at that stage and that reaching full term “would be a blessing”.

Suddenly, completing her degree was no longer her only concern. The safety of her unborn daughters had become paramount.

“My hospital admission at seven months pregnant was probably the moment that tested me the most. Until then, I had been pushing through the demands of work, school, and pregnancy, but being admitted and hearing the doctors discuss the possibility of an early delivery made everything feel very real,” she said.

Throughout the uncertainty, her husband remained her greatest source of support.

Blackwood-Mott shared that he never missed a doctor’s appointment and was consistently present through the highs and lows of the pregnancy. When she felt overwhelmed or considered giving up, he offered steady encouragement, reminding her of how far she had come.

SUPPORT

Her mother, siblings, aunts, and friends also formed a vital support network, helping her navigate a period that required extraordinary emotional strength.

With faith and quiet fortitude, she continued taking the pregnancy one day at a time, setting successive milestones of 32, 34, and eventually 36 weeks.

She ultimately reached 36 weeks and six days, carrying her daughters considerably further than she had initially imagined.

She noted that the milestone was particularly meaningful against the backdrop of her grandmother’s passing in August.

The twins arrived in September, born on their great-grandmother’s birthday, making an already emotional period even more significant.

Looking back, Blackwood-Mott said graduating with distinction represented much more than another academic qualification.

“Walking across that stage was more than receiving another qualification. It represented hard work, discipline, and sacrifice. I knew what had gone into earning that degree, particularly during my final semester,” she told The Gleaner.

The experience has also reshaped her perspective on motherhood and ambition, reinforcing her conviction that becoming a mother does not require a woman to abandon her aspirations.

She hopes her daughters will grow up seeing a mother who is ambitious and committed to her career, while remaining equally intentional about raising them.

Professionally, she remains determined to become a human resource director and eventually establish herself in human resource consulting.

For other young women confronted with unexpected circumstances, her message is one of unyielding perseverance and self-belief.

“My mantra is, ‘What God has for me will not miss me. I just have to keep going.’ My faith has been a major part of my journey, and I believe that resilience is not about never experiencing difficult moments, it is about finding the strength to move forward despite them,” Blackwood-Mott said.

olivia.brown@gleanerjm.com