Couple with rare prenatal diagnosis throws emotional gender reveal party

A woman went viral after throwing a gender reveal party for her baby, even though she knew the pregnancy probably wouldn't go to term. Stephanie and Alex, an American couple, went viral after recording the moment they found out their daughter's gender.

“We love you so much, my little girl, and we are here to celebrate every moment of your life, no matter how much time we spend with you,” Stephanie wrote.

Her unborn daughter, Isla, had recently been diagnosed with trisomy 13, a rare, life-limiting chromosomal disorder. "Part of my grieving process has been allowing myself to celebrate and do all the 'normal' things about pregnancy, regardless of the diagnosis," Stephanie told People magazine.

The couple, from Phoenix, Arizona, met in high school and has been married for seven years. After years of moving around the country and even living abroad due to Alex's military career, the couple finally settled in Colorado Springs. It was there that they decided to expand their family. "We had been trying to get pregnant for over a year," says Stephanie. "We also suffered a miscarriage, so when we found out we were expecting another baby, we were overjoyed."

A few weeks later, they decided to take a non-invasive prenatal test. Initially, they were eager to find out the baby's sex. But the test results indicated a high risk of trisomy 13.

"It's usually life-limiting. She can die at any point during pregnancy or shortly after birth," the mother told the magazine.

The weeks between the first result and the final diagnosis were the most difficult, the couple said. From the first diagnosis until confirmation, it was six weeks of anguish.

Stephanie says emotional ups and downs happen daily. Some days are calm. Others are filled with tears. "There are new emotions every day," she says. "But I'm so grateful to have each other to lean on."

Video

The TikTok video of the moment they discovered it was a girl went viral, and Stephanie said she received several comments from people saying they were praying for her and the baby.

Deciding to reveal the baby's gender wasn't easy. For a while, Stephanie says she wasn't sure she'd be able to celebrate. "When we found out there was a possibility something was wrong, it was like everything had been taken away from us," she says. "All our hopes and dreams were shattered."

But after talking it through and taking time to process the situation, they decided to move forward anyway. "We weren't sure what the outcome would be, but we knew we wanted to love her no matter what."