Wrap him in a blanket and nobody will know he's different': Midwife's shocking words

[Gimbiya]

Wrap him in a blanket and nobody will know he's different': Midwife's shocking words to a mother during labour after she found out her baby boy had dwarfism just days before he was born

A mother from Auckland has recalled the moment she was told there was something 'wrong' with her unborn baby during a routine growth scan at 41 weeks pregnant.
Olivia Hewetson would later find out that her son had achondroplasia - a form of dwarfism.
Mother-of-two Olivia explained she heard a midwife say something like: 'Don't worry, when he's here you can wrap him up in a blanket and nobody will ever know he's different' while she was in labour.

A mother from Auckland recalled the moment she was told there was something 'wrong' with her unborn baby during a routine growth scan at 41 weeks pregnant (pictured in the hospital)

Olivia Hewetson would later find out that her son had achondroplasia - a form of dwarfism (pictured with baby Leo)
What is achondroplasia?
* Achondroplasia is a bone growth disorder that causes disproportionate dwarfism. Dwarfism is defined as a condition of short stature as an adult.
* People with achondroplasia are short in stature with a normal sized torso and short limbs. It's the most common type of disproportionate dwarfism.
* In more than 80 percent of cases, achondroplasia isn't inherited.
* The average height for adults with achondroplasia is 4 feet, 4 inches for males and 4 feet, 1 inch for females.
* Your doctor may diagnose your child with achondroplasia while you're pregnant or after your infant is born.
* Some characteristics of achondroplasia are detectable during an ultrasound. These include an abnormally large head. 
* A chondroplasia is the most common type of short-limb dwarfism, occurring in around one in 25,000 children with both sexes at equal risk.
Writing on Love What Matters, Olivia revisited the day she was first told something was wrong.
A technician told her that her baby's 'long bones (arms and legs) were not measuring as they should be' - but that he couldn't tell her any more until he had spoken to Olivia's midwife.
Terrified of what might be wrong with her baby, Olivia drove home to her husband, as her 'mind went places I couldn't control'.
'I didn't dare Google anything because I knew that would tip me over the edge,' she said. 
'All of a sudden I was picturing our family with a little boy in a wheelchair, unable to walk.' 
Olivia said she even contemplated the possibility of giving birth to a stillborn baby. 
'What if we never got that little boy because whatever is wrong could make him incompatible with life? 
'What if I was about to give birth to a baby that had no chance of survival?,' she questioned. 

In labour, Olivia recalled a midwife saying: 'Don't worry, when he's here you can wrap him up in a blanket and nobody will ever know he's different' (pictured: Olivia's ultrasound)

Olivia also revisited the day she was told something was 'wrong' with Leo (pictured at 19 months old) - and the agonising hours in which she waited to find out what it was

'I didn't dare Google anything because I knew that would tip me over the edge,' Olivia (pictured with Leo) said 
After Olivia drove home to her husband and the technician had spoken to the mother-to-be's midwife, the couple returned to the hospital to speak to a specialist about the results of the scan.
'The hours we spent waiting for that meeting were probably the longest of my life,' she said. 
When they finally got in, the doctor mentioned the word achondroplasia. 
'I remember the doctor putting it into terms that we would understand,' Olivia said. 
'"Dwarfism," he said. "Your son will most likely have dwarfism".' 
'"Oh, is that all?", I thought. Well that's okay. We can deal with that,' Olivia wrote.

When she returned to the hospital with her husband and they spoke with the specialist, Olivia said that she was told Leo would 'most likely' be born with dwarfism

'The one thing I will always remember about Leo's birth – is watching him come out,' Olivia (pictured) said of the labour
Leo's type of dwarfism is not genetic, as 80 per cent of babies born with achondroplasia are born to two parents of average height. 
It affects one in 25,000 babies.
Several days later, when Olivia was booked in for an induction, she went through a gruelling eight-hour labour.
'The one thing I will always remember about Leo's birth – is watching him come out,' Olivia said. 
'After a long and hard eight hours, this was the part that was beautiful and other worldly.'

Olivia said that once Leo was born, there was an element of grief to what she had been through and for the baby she had delivered (pictured with Leo last Christmas)

'I was scared to love, to grow attached and to connect with Leo because I was aware of the hurt I would feel further down the track when it came to health concerns,' she said (Leo pictured)

However, steadily and over time, the young mother realised that everything was going to be okay - mother and baby (pictured after the labour) are now in a 'place of contentment'
Olivia said that once Leo was born, there was an element of grief to what she had been through and for the baby she had delivered:
'The emotional pain set in and I began to grieve the baby I thought I was going to have,' she said.
 I was scared to love, to grow attached and to connect with Leo
'I say grieve because that's exactly what it is. I had to come to terms with the fact this baby was very different to the one I had imagined. I needed to begin the process of letting go.
'I was scared to love, to grow attached and to connect with Leo because, being a mum already, I was aware of the hurt I would feel further down the track when it came to health concerns and potential surgeries.'

'I no longer see his diagnosis when I look at him. Instead, I see a determined and adorable little boy trying his hardest to keep up with his older brother,' Olivia said (Leo pictured)

While Olivia said that she is still aware that Leo (pictured) has dwarfism and knows that there will be challenges along the way, she added that she knows that 'worry is the thief of all joy'

'It is so important to just take one day at a time and enjoy those special moments with Leo because we won't get them back,' she said (pictured with Leo)
However, steadily and over time, the young mother realised that everything was going to be okay.
Leo is currently 19 months old and Olivia said that 'without even realising it, we have arrived at a place of contentment,' she said.
'I no longer see his diagnosis when I look at him. Instead, I see a determined and adorable little boy trying his hardest to keep up with his older brother, dancing to every tune he hears and making friends at his new daycare,' she said. 
While Olivia said that she is still aware that Leo has dwarfism and also knows that there will be challenges along the way, she added that she knows that 'worry is the thief of all joy'.
'It is so important to just take one day at a time and enjoy those special moments with Leo because we won't get them back,' she said. 
'That, and that great things come in small packages.'
To follow Olivia Hewetson, her husband Matt and two sons Beau and Leo, you can visit their Instagram page here. She also writes a blog, Our Little Lion, here.

Source: daily mail