Becoming a parent for the first time is life-changing, but if we’re being honest, life changes a lot the moment you find out you’re going to have a baby. There are suddenly worries and expectations that weren’t there before. Every doctor’s appointment is both exciting and a little bit stressful. You want to make sure the baby is going to be okay, normal, 100% perfect. You want everything to go smoothly.

During pregnancy, the mother has blood tests and ultrasounds to help determine if the baby is growing normally or if there is anything abnormal to be concerned about or prepared for.

When Kati Martinez was pregnant with her first child, a son, nothing in the blood tests or ultrasounds looked abnormal. There was no reason for mom or dad to think that their child would be anything but a healthy baby boy. 

Then it was time for their baby boy, Micah, to be born. He was born via c-section, and Kati was suspicious that something was wrong. Her husband, Abe Martinez, looked at her and tried to tell her, but she didn’t believe it until her baby was finally placed on her chest so she could hold him. Then she knew. Her baby had Down Syndrome.

Kati told Good Morning America that her husband noticed that their son had Down Syndrome almost immediately “because Micah, he was so swollen, because from birth — the features of Down syndrome are more accentuated, like the almond-shaped eyes, the no nose bridge, they have a neck fold — so things like that were just kind of more accentuated, and Abe noticed right away.”

Every year in the United States about 6000 babies are born with Down Syndrome, but Down Syndrome is often detected during pregnancy. Kati and Abe had a lot of feelings and emotions to deal with in the delivery room.

When Kati finally got to hold her baby, she told her husband, “He’s gonna be fine. It’s gonna be OK.”

On TikTok and Instagram, Kati chose to show clips from the delivery room in order to share her story and reassure others that it’s okay to have all the feelings, but it’s going to be okay.

Watch the video below to hear how the Martinez family is doing now and to here Kati explain why she decided to share her story with the world.