A woman expecting a baby usually represents a joyous occasion. Most of the time, the pregnancy goes through without a hitch and the momentous day when she gives birth is marked with celebrations, happy smiles and good cheer all round.

Ultrasound appointments during pregnancy are awaited eagerly, as the parents discover how their baby is developing and mark the stages of growth with anticipation. Sadly, there are instances when the mother may receive a devastating diagnosis from these ultrasounds and other tests carried out during gestation.

This is, obviously, the last thing an expectant mother would want to hear.

The baby may not be developing properly or is diagnosed with a birth defect. Many times, the doctors and the families suggest that the mother terminate the pregnancy. She is told that the baby will have no quality of life or might not even survive the birth. She herself may feel that her child will suffer if they have to live a life with a disability. Her joyous occasion has turned into a nightmare.

But what if the diagnosis happens to be wrong?

Modern technology has gone a long way to provide reliable results from scans and imaging tests. However, even doctors admit that these tests may be tricky when trying to diagnose a baby in the womb. The mother’s body tissue may be in the way, or the baby’s small size and position might make these tests less accurate. Even if quite rare, misdiagnoses have actually happened, causing unnecessary emotional distress in parents and leading to higher risks of unessential terminations.

Twenty-three weeks into their pregnancy, Drew and Ariann Corpstein received crushing news after a diagnostic ultrasound. It appeared that their baby had malformed brain tissue. They sought a second opinion but the results were the same: their baby would probably only live for a few days at most. The options they were offered were either an abortion or an induced early delivery to terminate the pregnancy.

Ariann claimed that ending the pregnancy “didn’t feel like it was my decision to make”.

Continuing with the pregnancy, however, was a huge ordeal for the couple. They revealed the prognosis solely with close family and friends, so Ariann was often asked about the baby at work. When she told people they were yet to find out the gender, the usual reply of “as long as it’s healthy” broke the young mother’s heart.

Even if quite rare, misdiagnoses have actually happened

They strived to mark the final weeks of the pregnancy through special family moments but the sadness shadowed their days. When they felt the baby kicking, it emphasised their ironic situation ­− the life in Ariann’s womb was so evident and, yet, they had been told that the baby would not live for long after birth. Finally, in her 37th week, Ariann and Drew went to a neonatal hospice unit, for families likely to face birth and death simultaneously, to induce labour.

But when Matthew was finally born the unexpected happened ­− their baby had been misdiagnosed.

Matthew’s brain was not malformed at all. He, in fact, had a fully-developed brain, which had been pushed to the side by massive fluid build-up, resulting in a wrong diagnosis detected by the ultrasound. A common procedure would drain the fluid and help the brain regain its normal position. A neurosurgeon told the Corpsteins that “Matthew had every chance at a normal life”.

Days after his birth, Matthew went home with his parents − very much alive. The boy still faced the possibility of neurological issues and health problems but his parents were obviously overjoyed at the unexpected turn of events.

So, what if they had decided to deny their son the opportunity to be born − the chance to live?

Ashley and Ronnie Shirley faced a similar situation. An ultrasound at 20 weeks gave their baby Jocelyn a diagnosis of skeletal dysplasia, commonly referred to as dwarfism. This lethal birth defect, which would progress as she grew, would give the baby a very slim chance of survival outside of the womb.

The scan showed that Jocelyn’s limbs were smaller than they should be and her legs were bowed. She had a small chest cavity, her lungs were not forming as they should and part of her brain was missing. Week after week, Ashley and Ronnie were told that there was a high probability that Jocelyn would not even be breathing when she was born.

Instead of the arrival of a new baby, Ashley began planning her daughter’s funeral.

And, yet, when she was born, baby Jocelyn astonished the doctors when they realised that the abnormalities that had showed up on the ultrasound had almost all disappeared. The brain was not missing any parts, the expected bowed legs turned out normal and she was still able to breathe properly in spite of her small chest and enlarged heart.

The doctors could not explain this medical miracle. They kept saying: “Where did we go wrong? Did we miss something?” Ashley had seen the diagnosed defects herself on the prenatal ultrasound. And, yet, Jocelyn left everyone speechless when she came into the world. And, even though she was diagnosed as blind at the age of two months, her mother was extremely grateful that her daughter was alive.

Things might not always turn out so well for everyone, of course.

Sometimes, a heartbreaking diagnosis is just that and it can certainly be a soul-crushing experience for any parent. So, would it not be easier all round just to terminate the pregnancy and prevent all the suffering that would ensue? Alexis Marrino was almost ready to do that.

The baby she and husband Michael had just found out they were expecting was diagnosed with a birth defect called anencephaly. This fatal condition gives babies mere hours, days or weeks of life. When termination was offered, Alexis was tempted to accept.

“My initial thought was: how could I continue when I already know what the outcome is going to be,” she admitted.

But, soon, the couple decided to continue with the pregnancy, in spite of the fact that they would probably not bring their baby home as planned. Alexis and Michael wanted to see their baby, to hold her in their arms, to spend whatever time they were given with her, even if it was for just one hour.

And when McKinleigh was born, that is exactly what she gave them − an hour and 10 minutes. But the precious time they spent with her was something they will never ever forget. Her mother got to hold her, skin to skin; her father changed her diaper. They dressed her, took her foot and handprints and marvelled over her resembling features. They even managed to baptise her just before she passed away in her mother’s arms.

“Feeling her small, warm body on my chest was too magical,” Alexis wrote. “McKinleigh, you weren’t on this earth long but... I’ll never forget carrying you those eight months and feeling you kick like crazy!“

These heartbreaking but inspirational stories certainly bring new meaning to parental love. It is true that these traumatic diagnoses and abnormal pregnancies can have psychological repercussions. But, when the parents truly realise that there is life within the womb − a life that is precious, no matter how malformed its body is − many of them will surely find comfort in knowing that they gave their offspring the chance to live in this world, no matter for how short a time.

And that is indeed love in its purest form.

Shirley Jobson is the author of Flowing from the Ebb and winner of the 2014 edition of The Strickland Foundation’s Human Rights essay-writing competition with an entry that discussed the plight of refugees.