Many women , realising the value and worth of life, bravely decide to face the challenges of motherhood whatever it maybe. Anu and Libin from Kalamassery and Michael Butler from Alabama are just two examples from this long list of brave parents.

The updated medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) act in India, allows abortion up to the 24th week of pregnancy. Manuel was born during the same 24th week, weighing a mere 630 grams.

Manuel was the second child of Libin and Anu. All was well during her second pregnancy, until the 24th week. All the routine scanning sessions also were normal. However, quite abruptly she started bleeding heavily and a quick delivery was imminent. During the pre-counselling session before the delivery, the doctors warned her about the possibility of losing the baby or delivering a mentally or physically challenged child. She was asked whether she wanted to take the risk of delivering the baby; faintly indicating the option for an abortion.

However, Libin and Anu were very clear of their convictions for the value of life and opted to stick to their decision of delivering the baby. Anu delivered the baby on May 17th, 2017. The premature baby had to be kept in the ventilator for four months. All throughout these four months, Anu visited the hospital three times a day, to feed and give motherly care to the new-born. The baby was eventually discharged on September 14th. The long hospital stays and treatments cost the couple a hefty amount of Rs.15.5 Lakh.

The struggles did not end there. When Manuel was a little more than two years old, their third son Michael was born. He too was born prematurely in the 27th week. Weighing 1100 grams, a little more than his elder brother, he too had to spend his initial 15 days in a ventilator. He was then moved to an incubator where he stayed for 30 days. The family settled a bill of Rs. 4.50 lakhs.

Spending 20 lakhs for the two new-borns in a span of three years was a herculean task for this middle-class family. However, money was not important when it came to upholding the dignity and value of human life. Both Michael and Manuel now lead a healthy and normal life.

This is a thought-provoking incident for all those women who give up the opportunity to celebrate motherhood, for meaningless reasons. Anu and Libin show how to lead an exemplary life. Even when the doctors recommended an abortion, their decision against it gave them the joy of three little children. The two children along with their elder sister Sarah, spreads happiness to everyone in the house.

The case of Michelle Butler, a mother from Alabama, US is quite different. She entered the Guinness book of world records on Nov 10, 2021, for giving birth to the world's most premature baby to survive.

Michelle Butler gave birth to her twins while they were a mere 21 weeks and a day old. They decided to call the children Curtis Means and C'Asya Means. But fate permitted C'Asya to survive only for a day. The team of doctors who examined the other baby Curtis informed that he also would not be able survive for long. But Michelle’s constant care and prayer overturned all their assumptions. When she gave birth to Curtis, he weighed just 420 grams. The probability of his survival was just one percent. Curtis is now 16 months old.

The normal gestational period of a baby is 280 days; Curtis was born in 148 days. Michelle recalls the day she was totally shattered to hear that her babies will not survive. Even though Curtis was born nineteen weeks before the due date, i.e., at a gestational age of 5 months, his wondrous response to medicines amazed the doctors of the University of Alabama Hospital. "I've been doing this for almost 20 years... but I've never seen a baby this young be as strong as he was," said Dr Brian Sims, the neonatologist on duty who oversaw the twins' delivery. It took 275 days (about nine months) for him to be discharged from the Hospital. Even though Curtis still depends on a feeding tube and supplemental oxygen, he is free from any other ailments. Michelle pays him utmost attention and care, as instructed by the doctors.

Mothers who do not hesitate to murder the children in their wombs should earn insights from Anu ann Michelle. 

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