But, for what it's worth, this story really made me think, moreso than most of news stories I read. Here's the headline and the gist of the story.
When a baby is destined to die
Perinatal hospices support families with a terminal prenatal diagnosis
Studies don't specifically track how many families in the United States choose to continue the pregnancy after receiving a terminal prenatal diagnosis, but in Shoonveld's experience only between 10 percent and 20 percent of families go on with the pregnancy after hearing the devastating news.
The article talks about one family that gave birth to the baby, knowing it would only live a short time. Here's the part I found the most moving:
But for some, the pregnancy feels precious because it may be the only time they’ll get to be with that child, says Schoonveld. “I think most people who have continued want to experience as much time with the baby as possible and want to hopefully meet the baby.”
So many people would have a knee-jerk reaction to ask why even have the baby at all. Isn't it more noble, not to mention more caring and more altruistic, to want to meet and know the baby, even for a short time? Even if the baby doesn't really know what's going on, at least for a few days or hours or minutes he can be held and loved and introduced to the world.
If nothing else, this is some small triumph over death: That one person would not pass away needlessly unknown.
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