Woman gives birth to disabled infant after seeing him smile

A British woman who gave birth to a baby even after being told that the baby would be severely disabled faced her son’s death nine hours after delivery.

The woman, who decided to deliver her baby after watching the 3-D video of the fetus, expressed full happiness despite her painful pregnancy and delivery.

Katyia Rowe, 26, was a normal mother-to-be last year, according to her statement. It was just a few months into her pregnancy when she was told that her child would be disabled for life. Experts from Birmingham Children‘s Hospital diagnosed that the child would neither be able to walk nor talk and would need 24-hour daily care.

On hearing the sad diagnosis, Rowe and her husband, Shane Johnson, were devastated. However, they decided to deliver their child. Rowe said, “When I saw him smiling and playing inside me I knew I couldn’t end his life.”

The baby was wriggling, bubbling and kicking freely and he was communicating with his mom, Rowe explained.

“If he could smile and play and feel, then despite his disabilities he deserved to enjoy whatever life he had left, no matter how short. Just because his life would be shorter or different, didn’t mean he didn’t deserve to experience it,” she added.

Rowe had to undergo many operations to drain amniotic fluid since the child could not absorb the fluid during the pregnancy. On Oct. 23, 2012, the baby, named Lucian, died at just 9-hours old, after being hugged by his parents and his grandparents.

Rowe appreciated that the baby survived for a while and finally met her.

“I thought I didn’t want to be a mother but Lucian taught me it is the most wonderful job in the world and I will always be grateful for that,” Rowe said.


By Kim Bo-ra / Intern Reporter
(bora_kim@heraldcorp.com)



<관련 한글 기사>

태아 웃기에 장애아지만 낳아, 출산 후...

영국 여성이 뱃속의 아이가 평생 말도 못하고, 걷지도 못할 것이라는 의사의 진단에도 불구하고 아이를 낳았고, 아이는 출생 9시간 뒤 숨졌다. 낙태의 기회가 있었음에도 해당 여성은 뱃속 아이의 3D 동영상을 보고 출산을 포기하지 않은 것으로 전해졌다.

카티야 로웨(Katyia Rowe, 26)은 자신이 특별히 모성애가 있는 사람이 아니었다고 말했다. 그녀는 현재 남편인 쉐인 존슨(Shane Johnson, 26)과 작년 3월 결혼하고 아이를 가졌다. 임신 몇 개월 뒤 버밍험아동병원(Birmingham Children’s Hospital)에서 아이가 평생 걷지도 말하지도 못할 것이라는 진단을 최종적으로 받았다. 전문가들은 평생 24시간의 보호가 필요하다고 말했다.

부부는 절망에 빠졌다. 그러나 아이의 3D 동영상을 보고 로웨는 아이를 낳기로 결심했다고 전했다. 아이가 뱃속에서 꿈틀거리고, 발로 차기도 하는 것을 보고 아이의 삶이 짧든 길든, 아이가 어떤 삶을 살든 그 삶을 누릴 기회와 자격이 있다고 생각한 것이다.

태아가 양수를 빨아들이지 못해 로웨는 임신기간 동안 양수를 빼내는 수술을 여러 차례 받아야했다. 아이는 출생 9시간 뒤 숨졌지만 로웨는 ‘루시안’이라는 이름의 아이에게 감사해하고 있었다. 로웨는 “저는 특별히 엄마가 되고 싶어하지 않았어요. 그런데 루시안은 엄마가 되는 것이 세상에서 가장 위대한 일이라는 점을 가르쳐주었죠. 그 점에 대해 늘 고마워요.”라고 말했다. (코리아헤럴드)