The birth of baby Ayla Summer Mucha brought immense joy in the life of her parents. From the moment they laid eyes on her, they knew she was special, but what they didn’t know was that the huge smile across her face she had greeted them with was a result of a rare condition.
Cristina Vercher and husband Blaize Mucha from Australia welcomed their bundle of joy into the world on December 30, 2021. During C-section, however, they were informed that their daughter Ayla had developed bilateral macrostomia, which means her mouth had not properly formed.
The deformity, classified as a facial cleft, is a rare condition where the corners of the mouth fail to fuse together during pregnancy. In fact, this malformation is exceptionally rare; according to the National Library of Medicine, only 14 cases have been documented in medical literature.
Vercher’s pregnancy was a normal one and no ultrasound scan showed any abnormalities.
When the new parents looked at their baby, they were aware something wasn’t right as the condition was “obvious” since she “was so tiny.” This made them extremely worried.
“Blaize and I were not aware of this condition, nor had I ever met someone born with a macrostomia,” Vercher said. “So it came as a huge shock.”
Neither the parents nor the doctors were prepared to handle a baby with bilateral macrostomia.
“This made the experience all the more worrying as it took several hours for a doctor to give us an answer. With this came more difficulties as the hospital had little knowledge or support for such a rare condition,” the mom said and added, “All I could think about as a mother was where I went wrong.”
Vercher struggled with the though that she did something wrong during pregnancy and that’s what caused her baby’s condition. ”All I could dwell on as a mother was where I might have made a mistake,” she confessed.
Doctors conducted a series of tests and scans that assured the mom that this issue was entirely beyond her and her husband’s control, and that they bore no blame for it.
Ayla’s mom and dad embarked on a mission to educate themselves about the condition and chose to share Ayla’s story on social media. To their surprise, their baby’s distinctive smile quickly captured the hearts of 6.5 million online users on TikTok. The Muchas were overwhelmed by the unexpected outpouring of support they received.
“I just read on doctor Google that there are only 14 documented cases. She is so darn special. Be proud mama,” one person wrote.
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“She is beautiful and just perfect the way she is. She made me smile as well,” another wrote.
As expected, there were also those who made fun of Ayla, but her followers were quick to shush them.
“Your daughter is absolutely beautiful, please do not listen to those bitter people. She’s such an Angel,” someone wrote. “Oh my looord. How cute are you!! ignore all those hurtful comments your little cuteness is just too sweet,” another added.
“You are a strong woman, you have a beautiful daughter, I’m sorry to see those thoughtless comments,” a third commented.
In response to the hurtful remarks directed at her precious baby, Vercher wrote, “I would advise nothing more than to be kind and accepting of all people.
“As you would hope, people paid the same respect to your or your children if such events were to occur in your life,” she said, adding that conditions “such as this” could really happen to anyone. “Social media is a divided place. You can’t control the personalities of other people unfortunately.
“We will not stop sharing our experiences and favourite memories as we are so proud.”
Ayla, who’s now two years old, has likely underwent a corrective surgery and has almost no scarring from the procedure. She recently became a big sister.
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