We are urgently seeking 500 new Life Defenders (monthly supporters) before the end of October to help save babies from abortion 365 days a year. Your first gift as a Life Defender today will be DOUBLED. Click here to make your monthly commitment.
Canada: ‘Miracle baby’ undergoes first successful spina bifida surgery in the womb
For the first time in Canada, surgeons have successfully performed surgery to repair a form of spina bifida on a baby in utero. The procedure must be performed between 16 and 26 weeks gestation, and while it has been completed in the United States and Australia, Canada had yet to reach this major accomplishment. Abortion is legal in Canada through all nine months of pregnancy.
On Tuesday, November 14, 2017, doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children introduced two-month-old Eiko Crisostomo who was diagnosed with spina bifida at 20 weeks gestation.
“Usually that’s the time when you find out the gender,” Eiko’s mother Romeila Son told reporters at the press conference. “We were very excited to finally have a girl after having four boys.”
First in-utero surgery in Canada for the treatment of #spinabifida a success. Read more about how the teams from #SickKids & @MountSinai helped Baby Eiko before she was even born ow.ly/9QAT30gzPZ5
But when Eiko’s parents, Romeila and Romeo, found out their daughter had a form of spina bifida known as myelomeningocele, they were heartbroken. Doctors predicted that their daughter would have brain damage, would need surgeries throughout her life, and would require the use of a wheelchair. They decided to do whatever it took to help their daughter, which meant Eiko would undergo a surgery that had never been done before in Canada.
“I wasn’t scared,” said Romeila. “I had zero doubt and 100 percent confidence.”
On June 4, 2017, at 25 weeks gestation, the medical team prepared to operate on Eiko, giving her anesthesia to protect her from pain and temporarily paralyzing her so they could perform the surgery. The surgery would close the skin over the spinal cord which was protruding into the amniotic fluid.
Eiko was born by C-section on August 19, 2017, and her mother said she is “doing very normal baby things.”
While the surgery does not guarantee that Eiko will feel no effects of spina bifida, it improves her chances of walking, reduces her need for brain shunts, and reduces her chances of having brain damage.
“Right now, her brain is stable, her legs are moving and kicking as you can see. All of our prayers were answered,” said Romeila. “She’s our little miracle.”
The surgeons noted that since Eiko underwent the groundbreaking procedure, three more unborn children with spina bifida have undergone the surgery successfully at their hospitals.
Catherine Harper of Auckland, New Zealand, flew to Brisbane, Australia, in December of 2016 to undergo the same surgery on her preborn son who was diagnosed with spina bifida.
“Usually termination is the main option in New Zealand, but there is still a chance you might have an amazing child,” Harper told the New Zealand Herald. “[…] We are trying everything possible to make our son’s life better. […] Anyone that has a kid knows you would do anything for them.”
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Dear Reader,
Every day in America, more than 2,800 preborn babies lose their lives to abortion.
That number should break our hearts and move us to action.
Ending this tragedy requires daily commitment from people like you who refuse to stay silent.
Millions read Live Action News each month — imagine the impact if each of us took a stand for life 365 days a year.
Right now, we’re urgently seeking 500 new Life Defenders (monthly donors) to join us before the end of October. And thanks to a generous $250,000 matching grant, your first monthly gift will be DOUBLED to help save lives and build a culture that protects the preborn.
Will you become one of the 500 today? Click here now to become a Live Action Life Defender and have your first gift doubled.
Together, we can end abortion and create a future where every child is cherished and every mother is supported.
Human Interest·By Nancy Flanders
