Mum Shares Heartbreaking Decision to Abort Her Baby But is ‘At Peace’ With It

A mum has shared the heartbreaking moment she terminated her pregnancy at 24 weeks after learning her son would be born brain-damaged and would not survive, but is ‘at peace’ with the decision.

Mum-of-six Kylie Gunn, 37, from Thames, New Zealand has described to the Daily Mail that her decision to abort her baby boy was “very difficult.”

Mrs Gunn said she made the decision after she and her husband were told their unborn baby, who they named Travis, had a raft of medical conditions – including the deletion of chromosome 22 and major heart problems. She said that the conditions would mean her son would be born brain-damaged and would not likely to survive.

In an open letter, published on stuff.co.nz, Mrs Gunn explained the decision.

“Rather than bring him to term and allow invasive procedures to take over his short lifespan – a life that would have limited contact with me and those who loved him, and a life incapable of ever knowing that love, I chose to abort his life,” she said.

She also wrote that if Travis would be born, he would undergo heart surgeries that would be only for surgeons’ education, “without much hope of ever allowing Travis to breathe alone.”

Mrs Gunn said that she and her husband were over the moon when they learned they were having a baby boy, but that feeling didn’t live long as doctors told them the extent of his severe medical conditions.

“It was so difficult to make the decision to take Travis’ life at such a young age, but it seemed like the right thing,” she said, adding that she is ‘at peace’ with her decision.

The couple were already parents to three children when Mrs Gunn fell pregnant with Travis, and the couple went on to have three more. “The reason I ended up having a big family was partly me getting over the grieving and wanting more children to hold,” Mrs Gunn said, revealing the first two weeks following her son’s death were ‘really, really difficult.’

“I was grieving as much as if I had lost a child I already knew. We wanted Travis. It’s different from having an abortion because a baby is destroying your hopes and dreams,” she said.

Mrs Gunn explained that the termination, a decision she and her husband thought for three weeks, was done at 24 weeks because she didn’t discover anything was wrong until late into her pregnancy.

“It was very late on because I had my anatomy scan very late. I was 21 weeks and it’s usually 18 weeks. It was hard. I should’ve known earlier and we could’ve made a decision earlier instead of me being so big and him kicking around inside me,” she said.

She then recounted the “very painful” termination procedure.

“It took quite some time. My body did not want to let him go,” she said.

Her lifeless baby was delivered, still inside the amniotic sac, then the medical staff took him out and placed him in Mrs Gunn’s arms. She said she then ‘cried uncontrollably’ for her lost son.

Now, Mrs Gunn is calling on health educators to make women aware of the alternatives to abortion – such as adoption – and explained there’s a lack of information to those alternatives, which can lead to women experiencing depression, anxiety and regret.

“To all those mums who have ever been faced with the option of abortion. It is not easy any way you choose, but there is support and understanding. And for my Travis. You would be 12 years old next Wednesday. I have loved you so much,” she said.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk