A pregnant mom has spoken of her heartbreak after discovering that her unborn daughter’s organs were growing on the outside of her body.
Kristella Marios learned of her daughter’s condition at her 12-week pregnancy scan, when her excitement at having a baby turned into heartbreak.
The 27-year-old mom, from Ballarat in Australia, learned that something wasn’t right with her baby, and doctors confirmed her worst fears one week later.
Ms Marios and her partner, William, were told that their unborn child had gastroschisis, which causes organs to grow outside the body.
Now the heartbroken mom, who also has an 8-year-old son, has started an appeal on Go Fund Me to cover the costs of treatment for her daughter.
The birth defect has caused her daughter’s intestines and bowel to grow outside of her body, through a hole in her stomach.
Neither Kristella nor William, who has two children from a previous relationship, have experienced any medical issues with their children before.
But the devastating news about the pair’s daughter saw them facing the hardest decision imaginable – whether or not they should keep the baby.