What are the chances of someone that has a Chromosome 18 abnormality to birth a baby
that will also have the same syndrome? The answer is 50%.
Shaleigh Hawkins took the chance at age 26 and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.
Shaleigh named her girl Brianna who was born with chromosome 18q-, the
same syndrome as her mom.
There is a series of short videos Shaleigh has recorded discussing her journey. She
says she and her daughter “keep each other in check”. Shaleigh doesn’t treat
her daughter any differently because of her syndrome. She is grateful to be a
mom as her daughter brightens her days and is a very respected child in
school.
Shaleigh explains there is no manual for being a parent of a special needs child so she
finds resources to help her learn and navigate through challenges that they may
face. She also gives The Chromosome 18 Registry and Research Society a lot of
credit for providing support and education and encourages everyone to not be
afraid to reach out to the registry for anything.
Finally, in the last video of the series Shaleigh gives advice to stay positive and keep
hopeful. Thank you to Shaleigh for sharing her journey with us all and best
wishes always to her and her daughter.
Watch all of her videos here.