'Come On, Of All People, You Should Get Why Someone Would Want To Abort a Cleft Baby'
One of the most common known birth defects is a cleft lip, palate, or combination of the two. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these conditions affect thousands of babies each year.
The causes are generally a mystery to medical professionals. Genetics are believed to be factors, as well as environmental influences during pregnancy.
When it comes to infants with a disability or defect, some doctors will give the option to terminate a pregnancy.
Parents who have happy healthy children living with Down syndrome or even missing limbs will tell you that they wouldn’t change a thing, and they’d never consider abortion as the preference to having this tiny human in their lives.
One dad has spoken out about his experience with a cleft palate/lip baby in hopes that others facing a similar trial will find some comfort and maybe even hope in his story.
Twenty-eight-year-old Matt Martin lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife Sara and their twin boys, Jack Carson and Cam Dawson.
The boys were born on April 3, 2018, and their parents have been head over heels for them ever since. Matt recalled that day in an article for Love What Matters.
“As the doctor held him (Cam) up, the room went silent. Something was different. The doctors were worried. My wife’s doctor leaned over to a nurse and asked her to call the NICU.”
It turned out that Cam had a bilateral cleft lip and palate. He wouldn’t be able to eat like a normal baby. He would need multiple surgeries to have the anomaly corrected.
According to Kids Health, a defect like this one can cause dental and speech problems, and even hearing loss.
This journey was certainly one this sweet family never expected to take. But Matt says he wouldn’t change it.
He wrote to Love What Matters about a text conversation he’d had with some friends. The conversation got heated due to some differing views on abortion.
“My ‘friend’ said, ‘Come on, of all people, you should get why someone would want to abort a cleft baby,'” Matt recalled.
“That shocked me. Why would he think that?” he wrote “Why would someone think I would agree that babies like my son shouldn’t have the opportunity to live, simply because they’re different?”
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Even with all the surgeries and the heartbreak over watching little Cam experience so much pain, Matt shared that, when it came right down to it, Cam’s cleft palate and lip was part of the face he fell in love with.
He even said he and his wife almost didn’t want to have the defect corrected. Their son would look different and that was hard to take.
In the end, Cam came through major surgery and looks to be doing quite well. His smile is so bright and infectious. It’s hard to imagine this baby not being given the chance to make a difference in the world.
“Having a cleft baby is difficult at times and it’s terrifying to go into the unknown, but it really is so rewarding,” Matt said.
Rewarding, indeed. Cam and Jack look like the happiest little brothers ever. Well done, Mom and Dad Martin. We wish you four a very happy journey ahead!
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