Dandy-Walker Malformation???

I have be told all of my adult life that I was high risk and only had a less then 15% chance of conceiving and carrying a baby to full term. I lost my first baby at 18 weeks many years ago. I am 20 weeks pregnant, went in for my first ultrasound, found out I was having a little girl. I of course called and text everyone before the nurse came back in with a string of doctors who told me that my baby had a serious form of Dandy-Walker. The most serious of forms, malformation. There is no celebral connect in her brain and she already has a good sized cyst growing. As far as they can tell she is 2 weeks behind in growth but is complete in every other way (she has all her fingers and toes with a strong heartbeat). She is extremely active, I feel her kick all the time... The doctors keep talking about termination bcause there is no way to tell how bad it is really going to be but they believe it will be bad. I don't know what to do... We are getting more test done to see if we can learn more about her condition but it's all just bad news so far... I am single, 30 and of very very limited means... But always said if God blessed me with a baby, I'd take whatever he gave me... Which is more cruel? Letting her live as long as she does with mental and health problems that might be so bad she is more a vegatable then a little girl? Or end it now, save her and myself more pain and just give her back to God early? I can't find a lot of info on termination on the web. I guess I was hoping to find someone with a similar story - good and bad to lend some advice. Thank you.  

[msteri]

I am so sorry you are going through this.  I don't have a similar story, but I want you to know that whatever you decide to do, make sure it's what you really want.  Don't let the doctors push you into doing anything you don't want to do.  What other tests are they doing for you? Are they completely sure that she has the condition or are they saying there's a chance that she does?  What quality of life do they predict she will have if you carry her to term?  Again, I am so sorry.  I hope you find the answers you need to make the best decision for you and your little girl.

[msteri]

You can go here for a little information on it...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandy-Walker_syndrome