Wife divorces husband because he wouldn't give up on their Down's syndrome baby

A mother has abandoned her husband and newborn baby, because their newborn son was born with Down's Syndrome reports UK Mirror.

The newborn's mother filed for divorce just a week after the couple welcomed their little boy into the world, because she is afraid baby Leo's disability would bring "shame" on her family.

The mother of the newborn, Ruzan Badalyan, spoke about the divorce for the first time today.

But the Father has promised to be a good father to his son, and his story has inspired strangers to donate more than £114,000 to support the young family.

Samuel mentioned how after his wife gave birth to their child in Armenia, where the couple reside, they were given the unexpected news that their son had Down syndrome.

Samuel who is a citizen of Auckland, New Zealand, told ABC News: "This pediatrician walks out of the room with a little bundle - that was Leo.

"She had his face covered up and hospital authorities wouldn't let me see him or my wife. When the doctor came out, he said 'there’s a real problem with your son'."

He was told their child was disabled, but he was still overcome with joy as becoming a father for the first time.

His wife in-turn refused to touch her son, due to the fact that in Armenian culture a child with such a disability brings 'shame' upon the family.

Samuel, a freelance business contractor, also said: "They took me in to see him and I looked at this guy and I said, he's beautiful - he's perfect and I'm absolutely keeping him."

However, when he returned to his wife's room in the hospital, he was stunned with her reaction.

The wife gave an ultimatum, that if he wanted to keep the child, then she'd leave him.

He said: "What happens when a baby like this is born here, they will tell you that you don’t have to keep them. My wife had already decided, so all of this was done behind my back."

One week after she our baby was born, Leo's mother filed for divorce.

But the proud and happy father now hopes to bring Leo back to his homeland in New Zealand, where the loving support of Samuel's family awaits.

But doing it alone will not be easy, so he has set up a GoFundMe page and the internet has shown incredible support for his emotional story.

He said: "I don’t have a lot, I have very little in fact. The goal is to raise enough for a year so I can get a part-time job so Leo doesn't have to be in daycare and I can help care for him."

The story surfaced after an Australian couple abandoned their baby when he was born with Down's syndrome to a Thai surrogate.

The case caused outrage, but the child, named Gammy, had thousands raised for it online by strangers who were moved by the story.

Samuel will presently campaign for the perception of disabled people to be improved.

His fundraising page has garnered more than £110,000 donated to it so far.