Becoming a new mother is the most exciting experience in the world.
Every parent I know says the birth of their children was the best moment of their life, and why wouldn't it be? That's your flesh and blood in front of you!
That being said, when my first daughter was born, I felt a surge of emotions.
It suddenly dawned on me that I was responsible for this being for the rest of my life. Was I ready? Would I be able to handle all the hardships?
But at the same time, the thought of becoming best friends with her excited me. I promised to give her my all, and so far that has been enough for the both of us.
All these thoughts were in my head the moment I first held her. I cried like a baby on the hospital bed. Thankfully, everyone thought it was all happy tears.
Many parents can't imagine looking at their newborn baby and feeling even a tinge of regret, but there are actually a lot of parents who have felt this way.
While for some parents it could be out of sheer laziness of raising a child, for others their baby was born with a birth defect.
A couple from India was looking forward to the birth of their daughter, but once she finally born, they were shocked.
Baby Hermlata was born with an extremely rare condition.
Simply looking at the first photo taken of her you would know that something is wrong...
A Heartbreaking Discovery
Baby Hermlata suffers from ectopia cordis, a rare congenital heart condition that affects eight in every one million babies.
This birth defect causes the heart to beat outside of the body, where it's only protected by a thin layer of skin on the chest.
"The heart is [normally] covered by bones and skin in the human body, but in this case though, her heart was formed completely during embryonic development, the body wall could not mature properly," the hospital's childcare specialist, Dr. Chaurasiya, told Caters News.
This condition is fatal, which is why Hermlata's parents, mother Prem Kumari, 22, and father Arvind Patel, 24, were devastated right when they saw their newborn girl.
"After my marriage ... all my family was happy when we were having our first child," Patel said, according to Inside Edition. "The doctor referred us to a district hospital but the doctors there told us that for treatment we have to take the child outside and her treatment will be very expensive. We had no money."
Fortunately, the family qualified to receive financial aid.
"I am hopeful that my daughter would now get a life-saving operation and live a healthy life," Patel said.
It's good that Prem and Arvind are staying positive, because they should be! There are several others cases of children with this rare condition recovering from their surgeries.
Also, some children with this rare condition have been able to survive without getting surgery. For example, a four-year-old in Texas and a seven-year-old in Florida have both been able to live relatively normal lives with their hearts beating outside their chests.
Watch a video of babies suffering from this condition here:
This rare genital heart condition isn't the only birth defect that has frightened parents. Thousands of babies have been born with an unusual condition that have even frightened their doctors...
Sirenomelia
Also known as "mermaid syndrome," this birth defect causes the legs and feet to fuse together.
While surgery can separate a baby's legs, a successful procedure that will allow a child to live a relatively normal life would be nothing short of a miracle.
Congenital Arhinia
There's approximately 40 known cases of congential arhinia in the world. Doctors are still baffled by this condition that results in a baby to be born without a nose.
In the photo above, Timothy Eli Thompson was given a tracheotomy to help him breathe. He's been able to live a relatively normal life, but would require multiple surgeries if he chooses to have a nose in the future.
Joined At The Pelvis
We've seen all sorts of conjoined twins, but none like these two sisters! Ximena and Scarlett Hernandez-Torres were born joined at the pelvis.
They shared a colon and a bladder before they underwent a 15-hour surgery to get separated.
The odds of conjoined twins is extremely rare. The occurrence is estimated to be between one in 189,000 births.
For more stories about conjoined twins, check out 7 Conjoined Twins Whose Journey Will Inspire You.