WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - OCTOBER 02: Actress Christina Milian and Danielle Flores attend LATINA Magazine's "Hollywood Hot List" party at the Sunset Tower Hotel on October 2, 2014 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images) (2014 Getty Images)
The Milian family is grieving following the death of a new family member.
Danielle Flores Milian, the younger sister of actress Christina Milian, gave birth to a boy on Tuesday but the newborn died just hours later.
Her son, who they named Richie, was diagnosed with Omphalocele, a birth defect that causes a baby’s internal organs to grow outside of his body, while Danielle was still pregnant.
“Yesterday I was blessed with the birth of my Richie Bear. Unfortunately, last night he took his place with the Lord and we said goodbye,” Danielle wrote in an Instragram post on Wednesday. “I so appreciate the prayers and support from everyone. He touched my heart and was perfect in so many ways.”
Danielle and her husband, Richard Dickerson, knew of the baby’s condition, but wanted to give him a fighting chance.
“I was told there’s almost a 53 percent change of mortality,” she told Us Weekly before the baby was born. “I said to (Richard), ‘Could you live with this?’ Because I know I can. I know I could be in a hospital every day. As a mother, I will do whatever it takes for my child… Not matter how long he has in this world, I could not imagine taking his chance away.”
The couple has two other children, Naomi, 1, and Daniel, 8.
On Wednesday night, Christina Milian shared a post on Instagram thanking fans for their support.
“The last 24 hours have been an emotional roller coaster but I’d like to thank everyone for being so supportive throughout my sister Danielle & Richards pregnancy,” she wrote. “The both of them have shown the true measure of courage and faith for the last 9 months and I can’t praise them more.”
She continued: “Our family was blessed to have met our little Angel Baby Richie. We were fighting for him and with him the whole way and are now coping with the direction in which fate took. I ask that you keep him and our entire family in your prayers… and know that we’ve all been touched by our little Guardian Angel. His memory will forever live in our thoughts and our hearts. May he now rest in peace in the arms of our Heavenly Father.”
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