Oct 6, 2025 | 12:00 pm
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When Ariyanna McGee went in for her 20-week anatomy scan, she expected a routine glimpse of her baby. Instead, doctors found excess amniotic fluid building up around her baby, Genesis Gianna. In the weeks that followed, Ariyanna had to be hospitalized multiple times during her pregnancy because of her dangerously high blood pressure.
At seven months, a 3-D ultrasound gave Ariyanna and her partner, Oscar Pineda, their first clear look at Genesis’ face and revealed a cleft lip. Doctors suspected a cleft palate as well. A cleft lip is a birth defect resulting in a separation in the upper lip that occurs when facial structures do not fully fuse during early pregnancy, while a cleft palate involves an opening in the roof of the mouth, often extending all the way through the gum line…