A woman who couldn't afford prenatal vitamins got a surprise in the mail from a generous internet stranger

Prenatal care comes with a lot of costs: doctor’s appointments, tests, even vitamins. For Adriana Garcia of Loveland, Colo., that financial struggle is something she’s dealt with throughout her first pregnancy. Finally she turned to the internet for help.

In a post on Reddit’s “frugal” subreddit, Garcia let it be known that she was looking for advice as a first-time mom. Nearing her due date, Garcia began to worry about how she’d pull together the money for items for her newborn, including the vitamins that she’d need.

“This will be my first pregnancy and with only two months left I have no idea how to afford any baby stuff,” Garcia wrote. “I wanted to have a baby shower but I have no family or friends near me so I’d have to plan a baby shower for myself, pay for it, and probably just invite people from where I work. … If anything, I really need a breast pump right and prenatal vitamins if anyone knows where I can get them for a decent price please!”

The post garnered 60 replies, with people offering advice on necessities for the baby, and how to get affordable vitamins through insurance. Garcia made it clear that she was working with insurance, but the cost of her vitamins was still too much if she planned to save up for the baby’s arrival. Garcia tells Yahoo Lifestyle that her financial situation became a topic of conversation in the forum, as well as in her private messages. One exchange started off with financial-based questions, and ultimately led to a generous offer from a kind stranger.

“Along with people giving me advice was a redditor who sent me a message and explained they were pro-life,” Garcia says. “This person wanted me to know that they wanted to show that because they are pro-life, a lot of people look at them the wrong way, thinking that they don’t care about what happens to a baby that’s being kept even if a family is low income. They mentioned that maybe their voice alone wasn’t enough, and went on to ask if they could buy my prenatal [vitamins] for my last three months of pregnancy.”

The interaction was a response to many in the forum who asked Garcia why she was having a baby at all if she couldn’t afford it. It’s a source of debate that this country knows well, especially given the current political climate.

“People really mix up what low income and being completely homeless is, and it’s a shame,” Garcia says. “The thing about not making enough money, is that sometimes you can be completely fine and then events take place in someone’s life, leaving them in debt and not making enough money to keep up. At five months pregnant, I was still making the same amount of money I was when things were a lot simpler.”

Regardless of the impact that her financials have had on her growing family, Garcia was able to shed light on the generosity of the internet stranger who helped her.

In a follow-up Reddit post, the mother to be posted a photo of the package she received in the mail just two days after her initial posting. Four bottles of vitamins that would last her until her due date, which, she admitted, made her cry like a baby.

”This person is trying to make a difference in their own way, and they chose to do that by helping me out,” Garcia says. “It’s never anyone’s place to tell you what you’re capable of handling when it comes to the obstacles life throws at you. Never be afraid to ask for a helping hand and hopefully once we get back on our swollen feet, we can pay it back to the next person who needs help!”

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• Pregnant women are being advised to sleep on their side to cut the risk of stillbirth

• Trent Franks offered $5 million, but how much does hiring a surrogate really cost?

• Mom’s viral plea to those ‘who feel the need to comment’ on a pregnant woman’s body
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