Karen Crawford was like any other expectant mother when she was only 21 weeks pregnant: she was happy about the life that was developing within her and ready to meet the child that God had blessed her with—a daughter named Myla— when she was just 21 weeks pregnant.
Karen, who was already a mother of six children, was well-versed in the pregnancy routine. Nonetheless, every blessing comes with its own set of shocks.
Karen discusses her experience with the pro-life organization Save the Storks in a recent blog post on the day physicians informed her that her daughter Myla would most likely be born with Down syndrome.
‘I remember it well,’ she says, recalling the ultrasound session, during which the nurse measured Myla and attempted to get a nice image of her little face.
In Karen’s words, ‘seeing our kid move and play on the computer screen was fantastic.’
As soon as she was through, the nurse informed Karen and her husband, Chad, that the doctor would be in shortly to re-measure and go over the results of the ultrasound with them.
‘When she left the room, I immediately informed Chad that something was wrong and that I could tell the woman had seen something concerning. He assured me that everything was OK just as the doctor stepped through the door.’
Karen prayed fiercely while the doctor performed the procedures as indicated by the nurse-checked the measurements and studied the ultrasound scan.
Following his conclusion, he took a deep breath before informing the Crawfords that their kid had two of the four ‘soft indicators’ of Down syndrome.
His recommendation was for Karen to get a blood test done to determine if she had the condition, which she did at her midwife’s office. ‘My thoughts were racing as I walked out of the blood test facility, knowing that it would be seven to ten days before we would get findings.’
Karen claims that she spent the following week fervently praying and putting her faith in the Lord. And after an agonizingly long wait of ten days, she received the call.
‘Hello Mrs. Crawford, we received your test results and your baby does have Down syndrome,’ and then went on to add, without taking another breath, ‘We may terminate the pregnancy if you wish…’
When her doctor made the sudden offer, Karen reacted in typical mother bear way, by being shocked and angry.
It was quickly followed by ‘Never,’ she said. ‘That will never happen!’ she said. Baby Myla, who was born with Down syndrome, was rescued from being aborted because her mother fought to save her life!
