A couple who were offered an abortion after their unborn son was found to have a life-threatening disorder have spoken of their decision to give him a fighting chance.
Following a twelve-week scan and an invasive amniocentesis test, medics told Lauren MacLaren that her baby had MSL2, a rare genetic condition associated with neurodevelopmental delay, intellectual impairment and mobility issues.
Despite being offered an abortion up to birth, Lauren and Gary decided, “No matter what lay ahead, we wanted to keep him”. Now, Mack is a healthy two-month-old baby.
‘I couldn’t do it’
Lauren said: “We were told that he would never live a full or healthy life and doctors didn’t even know if he would survive childbirth.”
“I was told I could terminate the pregnancy, even at a late stage, but I just couldn’t do it.”
His mum continued: “Amazingly, just before he was born, scans showed the fluid that had been building up on his brain had disappeared, which stunned the doctors. He really is our wee champion.”
“Mack was born with the umbilical cord around his neck and was taken straight to a specialist unit. I remember seeing him for the first time and just feeling so much love and pride because of what he’d gone through.”
‘A wee blessing’
Mack was allowed home a week after his birth in February. Mum Lauren said: “He’s such a happy wee baby and always has a smile on his face. He’s feeding well and everyone is confident he’s going to continue going from strength to strength.
“We still don’t know what the future will hold in terms of any developmental delays, but we are just overjoyed that he is doing so well.”
She concluded: “We just feel very blessed that we made the right choices”.