Alexander was my 3rd child and another boy. When we went in for our second ultrasound in my 7th month of pregnancy. We had gone in because our first born had a Cleft lip and Palate so they had us doing 3 ultrasounds per pregnancy to check if it had happened again. My second child had no malformations at all. When the did the 1st ultrasound they told me all was well normal all the way facial feature were normal and alls well. when we came back this time they found the head was oversized and thought he mighthave Hydrochephales? Sorry for the spelling these words are so long and hard to spell. They also worried for a heart condition. they sent us to a bigger hospital for a better look it took 3 weeks to get an appointment (a lifetime) when we went they ultrasounded me for what seemed like an hour and they wouldnt talk to us at all. Finnally afterwards they told us to wait to talk to the doctor and my Ob was called there as well. They told us he had alboar? sorry holopresencephaly and that he was not a viable child and that I should have an abortion asap. We couldnt belive it. His heart was beating he was kicking and moving and I was almost 34 weeks at that time. They wanted us to decide how to delive him they said some crude things about trying vaginally after they drained fluid from him head which they said would kill him. I still dont see how they offered this. they said it was a bad idea to have surgery ( C-Section) to deliver an unviable baby. We immediatly refused and left. I was so upset for days before we called back and came in. I had had 2 prevoius c-sectins but had gone to vbac classes and hired an Doula. It was just so upseting to us. I finally let them section me 2 weeks before my due date because they urged his head was begging to get to large. They showed us pictures of an HPE babys in a book they thought he had a trisomi13 sorry again spelling. When he was born it was a circus they had every doctor they could get in the room to observe and all the interns looking though a window to see him because they said it was sucha rare case. My husband had to physically stop them with the baby so I could see him before he went to the nicu. He looked so beautiful his forhead and hair area was enlarged but his facial features and nose were perfect he was so good looking and curly black hair. We said they are wronge he is not deformed. Unfortunetly he was still his ears were a little lowered and they said his genitals were small. He did has Holoprosencephaly. We signed a paper saying that if he could breathe and beat his own heart we would take care of him for life. He lived only 11 1/2 hours they never gave him anything to eat they said because we signed the DNR. This upset me greatly later. And he was so special to me I only got to hold him as he slipped away. I sang to him "rock a bye baby" and he slipped away. I held him for a while longer. I hated the way the doctors and hospital treated him and they didnt know hardly anything about the malformation. All the info they gave us was outdated and upsetting. I wish that they educated these doctors a little more on every malformation at the end I felt my family and I knew more about it that the doctors and nurses. I have had another child since thena little girl she is also malformation free and is a very normal 3 year old her name is Melanie. She will never know Alexander her brother and it took alot of faith and prayer to try again to have a baby but it was worth the hope and prayers and I know Alex looks over us and her. His father just recently joined him in heaven on 10/6/03 after back surgery. October has become a very gloomy time each year but we go on and im glad that there are others who understand me and what I went through. Thank you from reading my story and feel free to write or email me. Jennifer