Grammy Award-winning singer Alicia Keys felt overwhelmed when she learned she was pregnant with her second child. She and her husband, music producer Kasseem Dean (known professionally as Swizz Beatz), were at an extremely busy stage in their lives and careers, and a new baby could derail all of that.

Her husband was about to go to Harvard Business School. She had an album to put out. Her lifestyle simply wasn't a good fit for another child, Keys said she told her doctor at the time.

"I wasn't ready for this, which is what I told the doctor," Keys wrote in an excerpt from her upcoming book, "More Myself," which she shared with People. "'This is the worst time ever. I'm working on my next album. My husband just got into Harvard Business School. And I've been drinking—a lot.' I left her office feeling so torn.

"The music I was creating felt more important and urgent than just about everything. I'd have to put off its release for at least a year if I chose to have the baby," Keys wrote.

Her dilemma is one felt by many women who get pregnant, especially those who may lack the resources and support of a famous singer. Many women and couples feel that they just can't manage having a child, so they choose abortion. Others fear having a child will keep them from pursuing their goals in life.

But the argument for choosing life is the same for everyone, and Keys and her husband ultimately chose that path once she realized the inherent value and potential of an unborn child.

"While I was struggling over my choice, I went into the studio one evening and began listening to 'More Than We Know,' a song Swizz and I had written," Keys wrote. "The lyrics are about how we're capable of so much more than we can ever imagine. My eyes filled with tears. How could I take away the potential for this beautiful child, this light that could touch others in ways I couldn't dream of. For me, the song was a powerful message that I should go on with the pregnancy."

Keys also wrote that the realization that her mother considered abortion before choosing to give birth to her impacted her perspective. From People:

Beatz and Keys welcomed son Genesis in December 2014. After working on her new book, in which Keys's mother Teresa Augello shares her own story of considering abortion when she learned she was pregnant with the star in 1980, Keys says she now feels even closer to her mother's story.



"It wasn't until writing this that I realized, 'Oh s—, she chose me', even through all the difficulties," Keys tells PEOPLE of Augello, who raised her alone after she suddenly became pregnant following a brief relationship with the star's father. "How would she ever know what I was brought here to do? In a way we are parallel, but I didn't even know that."

(H/T Live Action News)