Pregnant Woman Learned Her Baby Would Not Live, but She Carried the Child to Term for This ‘Remarkable’ Reason

A Florida woman chose to continue her pregnancy after learning her baby daughter would not survive, hoping her decision could help save the lives of other infants.

Catherine Mornhineway, 30, and her partner, Andrew Ford, learned during a 14-week ultrasound in June that their unborn baby likely had anencephaly, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The condition, which affects 1 in 5,250 babies, prevents the skull and brain from fully developing and is considered incompatible with life, meaning the baby would not survive long after birth.

A second ultrasound confirmed the diagnosis and revealed the couple was expecting a girl, the Times reported. Doctors told Catherine and Andrew that many parents choose to end such pregnancies, but Catherine said she struggled with what to do next.

She later came across a clip from the medical drama Grey’s Anatomy featuring a storyline involving a pregnancy with the same condition. Catherine said the scene stayed with her — especially the idea of continuing the pregnancy and donating organs to help other babies.

“I came across a Grey’s Anatomy clip about a character on the show that had a baby with this condition,” Catherine recalled while speaking to Fox 13. “And she went along with the pregnancy and donated organs [to other babies], and I thought that was … it really touched me.”

The couple decided to carry their daughter, whom they named Haven, to full term in hopes that she could help save other infants. Catherine, already a mother of three, delivered Haven on Dec. 11 at Florida Brandon Hospital. Haven lived for four days in the NICU, and the family spent that time together.

“With the little bit of time that we got with her, we just wouldn’t trade any of it,” Andrew told Fox 13.

Catherine said hospital staff approved a visit to the hospital’s bereavement garden so Haven could experience the outdoors. “Feel the sun,” she said.

Andrew later described Haven’s final moments with their family.

“Back in the [hospital room], she passed on my chest, and, you know, we were all just kind of snuggled into bed, and I just couldn’t think of a more beautiful way to say goodbye,” he said, adding, “Our miracle becomes someone else’s miracle as well.”

After Haven’s death, the couple donated her organs through the LifeLink Foundation, an organization dedicated to organ and tissue donation, according to the Times and Fox 13.

“We don’t often hear stories of women carrying babies to term with the sole intent of donating that baby’s organs to someone else who needs a lifesaving transplant,” LifeLink’s public affairs manager, Sherri Day, told Fox 13. “What a remarkable family.”