Conceiving Crime: His ‘father’s instinct’ told him something was not quite right with their baby

In the latest episode of the podcast Conceiving Crime, host Sami Parker examines a case that has become unfortunately common and heartbreaking for modern parents. It was 2019, and Alexander and Daphna had just welcomed their second daughter with joy and excitement. While everything appeared to be wonderful, their life together was about to be upended.

The couple had one daughter and wanted to expand their family, but they were struggling with infertility. After undergoing treatments, they were thrilled to learn they were expecting another baby and were excited to begin life as a family of four.

Daphna explained that the birth of the second child they had longed for “was this moment of sheer bliss when everybody was getting to know each other and falling in love with each other. She just really folded into our lives and into our hearts.”

“Everything was great,” she said.

But Alexander, while he loved this baby, had a different feeling — a terrible feeling that he could not shake. Her appearance was so “jarring” to him that he backed away from her until he was up against the hospital room wall.

A Father's Instinct | Conceiving Crime Podcast

He explained, “The room shrank, and I got really dizzy… and everything just went numb. I stayed in that place for a long time.”

As much as Alexander tried to ignore what his gut was telling him, he couldn’t. He told Daphna that something wasn’t right with the baby girl, but she refused to agree with him — at first. It wasn’t until friends and family members began to make comments about the baby’s appearance that Daphna decided it was time to put all of their concerns to rest.

Daphna decided that official testing was the answer to quiet the uncomfortable conversations and chatter about her daughter once and for all. But things did not go as she expected.

Listen to the podcast, “A Father’s Instinct,” here.