A mother is speaking out after she says trolls have made vicious remarks regarding their infant daughter’s birthmark.
According to The Sun, 22-year-old Maria Khvostantseva gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Vika. Vika was born with a large birthmark, or congenital melanocytic nevi, that covers most of her back.
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As a result, Khvostantseva says she’s has received cruel remarks from a group of people telling her to kill her child as a result of the harmless birthmark. The mom told The Sun that a priest even refused to baptize Vika because he feared the birthmark was contagious.
Mom Says Strangers Tell Her to Kill Her Baby Because of Large Birthmark
Khvostantseva said in an interview, “I got tons of messages and phone calls from strangers. They were insulting me and urging [me] to kill my baby. A woman said to me by phone, ‘Kill your child! Throw it under a train!’”
The emotional mom said that was only the beginning. At birth, her midwife and pediatrician even made rude comments when Vika was born.
“When I gave birth to Vika, the midwife said, ‘She’s kind of dirty or what?’, and tried to clean her with a napkin. A pediatrician advised me to send my baby to an orphanage. People in the street often point their fingers at Vika and laugh. I am very upset because of that.”
Now, as the Daily Mail reports, Khvostantseva avoids taking her child out in public in hopes of protecting her. Nonetheless, she knows her daughter is beautiful just the way she is. “My baby is beautiful and very much loved by her family. My son says, ‘Vika was kissed by the sun.'”
According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, “Congenital melanocytic nevi are visible pigmented (melanocytic) proliferations in the skin that are present at birth. CMN are benign, tumor-like malformations resulting from faulty development of pigment cell (melanocyte) precursors in the embryo, and composed of an abnormal mixture of skin elements.”
NORD explains that while the tumors are benign, it is important to monitor the birthmarks.
The priest who refused to baptize Vika has since been punished for his behavior. Authorities are also looking into the bullying Khvostantseva says they have endured since her birth.