Unborn Baby Smile From 3D Ultrasound Made Parents Rethink Abortion

A smile from an unborn baby made parents in England rethink their plans for abortion. Katyia Rowe and her partner of four years, Shane Johnson, were planning on following their doctors warnings and choose to abort their baby. But when they saw the 3D ultrasound they decided not to go through with their plans.

Unfortunately, baby Lucian only lived nine hours after being born. According to The Sun, Katyia has no regrets in deciding not to abort Lucian:

“I may only have been Lucian’s mummy for nine hours but it was worth all we went through.”

Their ordeal started after a 20-week scan revealed complications with Lucian’s brain development. Doctors expected the baby would be severely disabled, and they warned the parents that the child would never walk or talk and would be 24 hour care. The Birmingham Children’s Hospital thus a advised them that the best option would be to abort the baby.

The couple was planning on following the doctor’s advice until they saw the results of a 3D ultrasound. A 3D ultrasound is different from a normal sonogram because the sound waves are sent in from multiple angles in order to produce a more realistic rendition of what is inside the womb. A 4D ultrasound adds the component of time, and allows prospective parents to see their unborn baby in action.

This technology is becoming much more common at pregnancy clinics. When these parents had the chance to see the results they were amazed to see Lucian smiling, blowing bubbles, kicking and waving his arms. These results immediately changed Katyia’s mind on the abortion according to Daily Mail:

“Despite all the awful things I was being told, while he was inside me his quality of life looked to be wonderful — he was a joy to watch. I was told he would never walk or talk yet the scans showed him constantly wriggling and moving. As I watched I knew that while I was carrying him he still had a quality of life and it was my duty as a mother to protect that no matter how long he had left. He deserved to live.”

Lucian was born on October 23 at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, Shrops, and rushed into special baby care. The baby was placed in her mother’s arms and even met his grandparents before passing away. Katyia is sad but tells The Sun she still remembers those moments fondly:

“My son was dying but I couldn’t stop smiling because I felt so blessed, honored and privileged to have the chance to cuddle him, thank him and say goodbye properly after all we had been through together. Of course it is hard without him. I miss him every minute.”