The Rojas family is just your typical family though a bit larger than the American average with four young kids in the house.
So when they found out that baby number 5 was on the way, both parents decided that they would take the chance to do things differently this time, especially since they had no plans to add more to their already growing brood.
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With all the advances in the field of medicine, the expectant mother has available to her a complete range of medical technologies to help her throughout her pregnancy and all the way to birth and beyond.
Aside from reducing the incidence of infant mortality and protecting the health of the mother, the technology of today also helps parents find out the gender of the baby well in advance.
Amber Rojas decided to forego the discovery of her baby’s gender beforehand because she wanted it to be a surprise for all of them.
“Since this was my fifth baby, I’ve literally labored every way possible, so I wanted to leave something to surprise―something different to look forward to, especially because we really were not planning to have anymore. I decided to do a surprise gender and my husband and kids just went along with it,” she said in an interview with Love What Matters.
Not only that, Amber wanted to experience a water birth this time around.
According to the American Pregnancy Association, water birthing is a method that involves the mother giving birth in a tub of warm water. Some women stay in the tub during labor and then get out for the delivery while others choose to stay in the water from labor all the way to delivery.
It’s an innovative birthing method and among the advantages being touted is reduced labor and birthing stress for both mother and baby. This reduced stress is believed to lower the chances of fetal complications related to the birthing process.
Water birthing can also be done at home to further provide an environment conducive to a relaxing birth process and this is what Amber Rojas decided to do.
As her pregnancy progressed, Amber increasingly had the feeling that something was different about this one. Her husband was very supportive though and kept encouraging her. He believed she was just feeling that way because they didn’t know the baby’s gender.
But Amber still couldn’t shake the feeling that this pregnancy was very different from the previous four she’s had. For one, she could definitely feel her baby “breathing” inside her womb, something that her four other kids didn’t do when she was pregnant with them. Call it mother’s intuition but Amber was on to something.
Finally, it was time for Amber to give birth. With encouraging and uplifting messages that her children and husband posted adorning the walls of their room, Amber headed to the birthing area. As expected, the delivery was smooth and soon she was holding a baby girl in her arms! Baby Amadeus was welcomed into the world.
But the moment Amber held her baby, she realized why this particular pregnancy was different.
She was only thinking to herself, but she saw that her baby had Down syndrome. A few tests by the midwife soon confirmed Amber’s initial impression. Not only that, Baby Amadeus also had a heart condition and this explained the sensation of “breathing” that Amber felt.
Down syndrome is a type of genetic disorder that is primarily characterized by delayed physical growth, distinctive facial features, and impaired intellectual capacity. Severity varies from case to case but there is no cure for Down syndrome and continuing care is necessary throughout the life of the person affected.
With an occurrence of about 1-in-1,000 babies, Down syndrome is one of the most commonly occurring chromosome abnormalities among humans. Parents usually have normal genes and there is no known behavioral or environmental change that is thought to reduce the chances of Down syndrome.
Prenatal screening can detect the presence of Down syndrome and pregnancies that test positive to this screening are usually terminated. It was this screening that the Rojases decided to forego and just as well because this allowed a beautiful life into their family.
Amber Rojas and her family are not dwelling on the worries and anxieties inherent in dealing with Baby Amadeus’ condition. They simply accept that the challenge is there and in the meantime celebrate this new addition to their family and make sure she gets all the love and care that they can give.
