Nigerian mum gives birth to white baby in odds that baffled midwives

32 year old Nigerian Catherine Howarth was convinced she had been given the wrong child when midwives presented her with her new baby shortly after she gave birth at a Milton Keynes Hospital on June 1st. She was stunned because the little boy named Jonah was completely white. And even though baby Jonah has a white father, doctors say the chances of him being completely white too were an incredible one in a million.

And it wasn’t only baby Jonah’s parents who were stunned, so were the midwives. Continue

“The midwife looked at me and looked back down at Jonah and then at me again and couldn’t believe it. The doctors confirmed it was extremely rare."Catherine.

Her husband Richard Howarth, 34, was equally astonished.

“When I first set eyes on my baby boy Jonah, it was a feeling of pure delight and relief that he was healthy and strong. His complexion was very pale due to the umbilical cord being wrapped around his neck when he was being delivered.

“After a few hours his colour came to his cheeks. Catherine and I noticed his complexion was very similar to mine and were surprised it was as light. The midwives and doctors told us he’ll most likely remain this colour.”

Doctors have said Jonah is not an albino.

“We have been told that I must have been carrying a recessive gene. My parents were from Nigeria and, for as far back as anyone can remember, my family have all been black. But at some point there must have been a white gene in my family that has remained dormant for years and years – until now. The doctors said they had researched the chances of this happening and discovered that it was very, very rare. They had only found two similar cases, both in America, that had been reported in recent times.” Catherine said

Catherine and Richard say they plan to have more children but have been told the chances of them also being born white are highly unlikely.