March is Trisomy Awareness Month

Our firstborn Ethan had Full Trisomy 9, but he was so much more than a diagnosis. He was created in the image of God–precious and loved. His life had meaning and value. His body was afflicted with an awful fatal condition, the result of the fall and a very broken world. He had Trisomy 9 in every cell of his body, but he was not Trisomy 9. 

March is Trisomy Awareness month. Whereas most people are born with 46 chromosomes (a pair of each of the 23 chromosomes), babies born with a trisomy have an extra chromosome. This extra chromosome can cause a variety of issues, depending on which chromosome has an extra copy, whether the third copy is partial or complete, and how many cells are affected. Trisomies are not typically something you pass down and occur in the earliest stages of a baby’s development.

There is no need to sugar coat the fact that some babies are given fatal diagnoses before they ever leave the womb. I think it is good and even glorifying to God to weep and lament over such brokenness and pain in such small children, and reflect on the fallout of a broken world that is not our home. We can grieve and cry over such suffering, while keeping our gaze and our tearful lament fixed on the hope we have in Christ Jesus.

Do you have a child with a trisomy? I’d love to hear their name in a comment or by email. I would be honored to remember with, celebrate with, and pray over you this month.