In the last year, three babies have made news headlines due to a rare birth defect Anopthalmia, which has caused them to be born without eyes. The location of these babies is greatly varied, from Illinois and Arizona in the United States, to Cwmbran, South Wales. A baby being born without eyes occurs in about one in 10,000 births in the UK.
Daisy Smith, born to Danielle Davis and Andrew Smith of South Wales, is a special case in that her parents knew she may be born with some type of birth defect. The Daily Mail reports that a routine ultrasound at 21 weeks gestation showed the fetus had a cyst on her brain . Though doctors advised terminating the pregnancy, Danielle staunchly refused to abort her precious child.
Daisy’s case is an excellent example for #prolife . A cyst on the brain could have meant any number of drastic repercussions, including the potential for an illness that could not be survived. Though a baby being born without eyes is certainly shocking, in the grand scheme of things it’s not so bad. Many people are born blind or become blind at some point in life. They still go on to live full, meaningful lives. Had Danielle gone through with the abortion on the off chance that something bad would happen, she would not now be holding her beautiful baby girl in her arms. Though their baby was born without eyes, her parents have no regrets.
“It was a shock – we had never heard of it before. But she is our gorgeous baby and we have no regrets about turning down a termination.”
According to the Mirror, though the baby will go to the hospital next month to be fitted for glass eyes , which will be replaced when she is 18-months-old with more realistic painted eyes, her condition is not curable. The mom of three is not concerned about that, however.
“We want to give Daisy as normal a life as possible and give her the same opportunities as other children.”
Davis and Smith want to raise awareness for their daughter’s condition, and are participating in a 12,000 foot skydive to benefit the Royal National Institute of Blind People .
The two month old baby is now home with her parents and two big brothers. The fact their baby girl has been born without eyes is insignificant to this family. She is their “gorgeous” baby, and they love her, with or without eyes.