Baby 2,000 – A Life Forever Remembered

Glory Reborn has delivered our 2,000th baby! It is amazing to think that just a few years ago we started in a small apartment and had an ironic beginning with the first baby delivered in our spare bedroom. By April 2007, we had delivered 1,000 babies and we have continued to provide the highest quality care that we can to 1,000 more.

As we approached number 2,000, we were optimistic and excited and wondering which mom and baby it would be! The Lord also had a plan…as we are learning, it usually is very different that what we expected.

We had hoped for a nice birth, with the joy of new life to mark our 2,000th, however the most important part of our vision – Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies & Hopeful Hearts – is the Hopeful Hearts. Hope is often needed most in the difficult times, so when our precious mom who was having a baby with Anencephaly turned out to be the 2,000th mom, we were not too surprised.

Anencephaly affects an estimated 1 in 10,000 births, and it is considered a neural tube defect. Sadly, there is no treatment or cure for it, and it usually leads to death within a few hours.

Precious John Paul was our 2,000th baby born at Glory Reborn. He was born on October 1, 2010. He passed away a few minutes after his birth in the loving arms of a Glory Reborn staff member and his mom.

While this story does not have the happy ending that we were hoping for, we did realize something in the midst of it. We have spent the last few days with the mom and her family grieving and trying to process the situation. We are here to do everything that we can to empower women to have safe and healthy pregnancies (which includes providing prenatal vitamins with Folic Acid which can reduce the risk of certain birth defects). We are here to in essence establish Healthy Moms & Healthy Babies. Sometimes on this journey however, we encounter conditions like this in which our only response, as insignificant as it may seem, is to have compassion and comfort the brokenhearted.

Baby John Paul’s life will always be remembered. His life has had and will continue to have meaning. He is our baby 2,000 and we will never forget him. It is good to know that he was born into an environment where for the few minutes of his life, all he experienced was love.

Please keep Baby John Paul’s family, as well as Glory Reborn’s family in your thoughts and prayers.