A mother’s dilemma

The sterile dressing that Faith wears on her head.

In the early stages of her pregnancy, Canadian blogger Myah Walker was confronted with a mother's worst nightmare. Doctors told her that the baby had only a partially formed brain, and would likely die before birth or shortly afterwards; a condition called anencephaly. She refused abortion. And despite the odds, her baby is still alive two months after she was born.

Anencephaly is when a foetus's neural tube fails to close as it should during the early stages of development, resulting in the absence of a major portion of the brain, skull, and scalp. Babies with the defect normally die stillborn, or a few hours or days after the birth.

Nineteen weeks into her pregnancy, Myah was told of her baby's condition and advised to abort the foetus. But the young woman, full of faith, refused. And despite all scientific improbability, Faith Hope, born 19 February, is still alive. Her mother writes the blog "We walk by Faith, not by sight". Attacked by several outraged web users, she explains her decision to The Observers.

"I didn't carry my baby to prove a point or obedience to god or moral values"

Myah Walker is from New Brunswick, Canada.

I was shocked by the diagnosis. The doctor didn't say ‘Your baby has anencephaly', but ‘Your baby has no brain'. That's not something I'd ever heard of before that, and I didn't really believe it. I said, ‘She must have some brain', and she said ‘No'.

They didn't outright advise me to terminate the pregnancy, but it seemed like they weren't accepting or supporting my decision to continue. When I switched doctors, the first thing they asked was why. I was so angry that the first thing that came out of my mouth was, ‘Because abortion is murder', but actually that's not really the reason. I didn't carry my baby to prove a point or obedience to god or moral values. I just wanted to have my baby; I love her no matter what.

I started a blog eight weeks before my due date, just to post pictures and videos for friends and family. Then I started receiving hate mail. It really hurt and I was baffled by it at first. I couldn't understand why they were attacking me. But I've gotten past it. I don't read it anymore.

When she was born alive and thriving, somehow I wasn't really surprised. My hope now is that she'll just continue like she has been doing. I know it sounds crazy to some people, but I honestly believe that she could go on for months or years. I'm not shocked; I know why she's here. But I guess for people who don't really believe in god or miracles, it's pretty much a head-scratcher."

The day Faith was born, weighing 6lb and 9oz (3kg). 

Faith's first trip outdoors.