U.S.-born Chaya Ben Baruch, 52, lives in northern Israel and has begun an organization to help new mothers of babies with Down syndrome, or if they decide they can't raise the child, to help find an adoptive family, Chabad.org reports.
The Ben Baruchl's have six biological children, including a some with Down syndrome, Avichai, 16. They have also adopted three more children with Down syndrome, Keren, Shalhevet, and Ori, ages 15, 10, and 2.
Chabad explains, "the Ben Baruchs became parents to all three Down's children when the latter were tragically abandoned by their parents, at birth or shortly afterwards. The Ben Baruchs rescued these children from nearly-certain institutional fates, since in the past, few families in Israel have been willing to adopt Down's children."
From that experience Chaya Ben Baruch decided to launch an organization called Birkat Haderech, which encourages women either to keep their babies with Down syndrome, or to let her help them find the babies a good home. The organization keeps a list of families who would like to be foster parents to babies with Down syndrome.
"The joy that we get is tremendous," she says. "People need to realize that unless there is a major medical problem, the every day care of a Down's baby is no different than that of any other baby. It's just that their development takes longer. Longer to get out of diapers… longer to walk. But what is so bad about that, that you would leave them in the hospital?"
I really liked the headline on this story, "A different perfect," which came from a quote from Chaya Ben Baruch after the birth of her son with Down syndrome: "I did not grieve for the 'perfect' child I expected. I learned to see a different 'perfect.'"
