{"id":159452,"date":"2017-01-05T10:11:02","date_gmt":"2017-01-05T15:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=159452"},"modified":"2017-01-04T12:00:08","modified_gmt":"2017-01-04T17:00:08","slug":"pregnant-new-zealand-woman-surgery-australia-son-spina-bifida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/pregnant-new-zealand-woman-surgery-australia-son-spina-bifida\/","title":{"rendered":"Pregnant New Zealand woman undergoes surgery in Australia for son with spina bifida"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Catherine Harper of Auckland, New Zealand, flew to Brisbane, Australia, in December to receive surgery on her preborn son who was diagnosed with a severe form of spina bifida. The procedure, which must be performed between 16 and 26 weeks gestation, has been available in the United States for years, but was only successfully completed for the first time in Australia<\/a> in July 2016 and has never been performed in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

“Usually termination is the main option in New Zealand, but there is still a chance you might have an amazing child,” Harper told the New Zealand Herald<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She and her husband Paul have a three-year-old son named Jackson. Their second son was diagnosed in utero with Spina Bifida myleomenigeocele and Chiari 2 malformation, according to the family’s Give a Little<\/a> fundraising page. Myleomenigeocele\u00a0is a form of spina\u00a0bifida which is considered severe, and symptoms include decreased ability to walk, problems with bladder and bowel control, hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain), and a tethered spinal cord. Chiari 2<\/a> is a malformation in which the cerebellum and brain stem tissue extend into the hole at the base of the skull.<\/p>\n

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