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Baby girl with Down’s syndrome, given just 10% chance of survival, celebrates first birthday

A baby girl given just a 5-10% chance of survival is flourishing at home with her parents and celebrated her first birthday yesterday.

Arabella’s parents, Tiffany and Paul Kim, were warned by doctors that it was unlikely their unborn baby would survive birth after a prenatal scan revealed hydrops fetalis – a condition which causes an abnormal build-up of fluid levels in the womb.  

Around the same time, Arabella was given a 98% chance of being born with Down’s syndrome.

Undeterred that the “odds were greatly stacked against [them]”, Tiffany and Paul wanted to give their daughter a chance at life.

The couple immediately began seeing an obstetrician specializing in high-risk pregnancies and monitored baby Arabella by ultrasound every one-two weeks.

With each passing scan, Arabella showed signs of improvement, with fluid build ups around her stomach, lungs and heart shrinking.

Then, a 20 week scan revealed the build-up of fluid was completely gone.

Born at a very healthy 7.1lbs (3.22kg), Arabella had no need for a neonatal intensive care unit and was able to go straight home with her mother and father when she was born on 17 July 2019.

‘Overcome by beauty and overwhelmed with thankfulness’

Kim told Love What Matters: “The moment I first held her in my arms, I was overcome by her beauty and overwhelmed with thankfulness. And my fears concerning Down’s syndrome melted right away. I was just grateful she had come safely and healthily into this world.”

She added: “[Doctors] were able to immediately lay her on my chest instead of rushing her over to get vitals on her like they did with my two other typical kiddos. There was no need for the NICU, no need for supplemental oxygen, and she was able to even latch and breastfeed almost right away.”

Reflecting back on her pregnancy the mother-of-three said: “If only myself back then could have fast-forwarded ahead to the day Arabella was born and to the present. Because then, I would have been able to see there was nothing to be afraid of and that my life would actually be infinitely better because of Arabella being in it,” she said.

Pressured to abort

Last year, it was revealed that the number of babies born with Down’s syndrome has dropped by 30% in NHS hospitals that have introduced new non-invasive prenatal tests.

The release of the figures arrived shortly after a report detailed how pregnant mothers were being pressured by some medical professionals to reconsider an abortion, having previously refused one – sometimes on multiple occasions.

One mother, whose child is now three-years-old, said medical professionals told her they could leave her baby with Down’s syndrome to die if it was struggling after birth.

Another mum told how even at 38 weeks pregnant she was being offered an abortion.Currently, abortion for disabilities including Down’s syndrome, cleft lip and club foot is legal right through to birth in England, Wales and Scotland, and 90% of babies with Down’s syndrome identified in the womb are aborted.

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💐My dearest Arabella, How has one year gone by already?! Every day with you is a gift. You were not even supposed to survive. The doctors said you most likely would not even make it to birth, and yet here you are, the very definition of a miracle! I don’t like to imagine the reality that they had predicted, a world without you in it; it hurts way too much. Instead, you are here, and I don’t take that for granted. I have been blessed by a love unlike any other. I have gotten to experience joy personified. And every day I have been graced by the presence of an angel. All because of you. Arabella, my love for you is deeper than any words could ever describe. I love you more than life itself. I thank God constantly that He allowed you to make it into this world and that He chose me to be your mama. Happy first birthday, my beautiful, amazing, and precious baby girl! Know that I will always love you exactly for who you are. Love, Your Mama . 🇰🇷Arabella is wearing a traditional Korean dress, called a hanbok, to honor her Korean heritage. It is customary to wear this on the first birthday and take part in traditional celebration and customs. . As you can see as you scroll through the pics, Arabella was not a huge fan of wearing her dress😂 . . . #downsyndrome#oneyearold#firstbirthday#wouldntchangeathing#loveofmylife#miraclebaby#dohl

A post shared by ARABELLA🌈Down Syndrome🌈Hydrops (@abellamiracle) on

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Dear reader,

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of people like you across the UK, the McArthur assisted suicide Bill in Scotland was defeated in March by 69 votes to 57.

Then, in April, the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill fell in the House of Lords.

Many commentators thought both Bills would become law.

If that had happened, governments in England, Scotland and Wales would now be preparing to roll out assisted suicide services.

Over the coming decades, this would have led to the deaths of many thousands of vulnerable people.

But that is not what happened.

Because supporters like you acted, those Bills were stopped.

Because of you, many vulnerable lives have been saved.

These were two very significant victories. But sadly, they are not the last battles we face this year.

The new Parliamentary session begins this Wednesday. We now face three major threats.

  1. Attempts to bring back the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill and bypass the House of Lords

    The assisted suicide lobby, led by Dignity in Dying, a multi-million-pound pressure group, has made it clear that it is going to attempt to bring back the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill in the next parliamentary session.

    It then plans to use the Parliament Acts to bypass the House of Lords and force the Bill into law.

  2. Labour Government plans for a major expansion of abortion provision, including financial incentives for ‘lunch-hour’ abortions

    Under these plans, the Government would financially incentivise major abortion providers, BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices, to provide ‘lunch-hour’ or ‘same-day’ abortions.

    ‘Lunch-hour’ abortion services are walk-in abortion services designed to fit into a woman’s lunch hour.

    Women facing an unplanned pregnancy need time, care and support, not a system that gives abortion clinics a financial incentive to rush them through consultations, scans and abortions on the same day.

    If these plans go ahead, many more lives are likely to be ended by abortion here in the UK.

  3. Extreme abortion up to birth proposals in Scotland

    In Scotland, plans are moving forward to introduce an extreme abortion up to birth law. This would go far beyond the abortion law change recently backed by the Lords for England and Wales.

    A review of abortion law in Scotland, commissioned by Humza Yousaf when he was Scottish First Minister, recommended that the Scottish Government scrap the current 24-week time limit – and abortion be available on social grounds, including for sex-selective purposes, right up to birth.

    The final plans are expected to be brought forward as a Government Bill in the new Scottish Parliament, which begins this Thursday.

If these three major threats succeed, thousands of vulnerable lives will be lost.

We cannot allow this to happen.

We can only defeat these three major threats with your help.

We ran our biggest campaigns ever to help defeat the assisted suicide Bills at Westminster and in Scotland.

That work has made a serious dent in our limited resources.

To cover this gap and ensure we can effectively defeat these three major threats in the coming months, we are aiming to raise at least £199,250 by midnight this Sunday (17 May 2026).

We are, therefore, appealing to you to please give as generously as you can.

Every donation, large or small, will make a crucial difference in saving the lives of the unborn and many others. Plus, if you are a UK taxpayer, £1 becomes £1.25 with Gift Aid at no extra cost to you.

By stopping these threats, YOU can save lives during this new Parliamentary session.

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