Nigerian Mother Becomes First Black Woman to Give Birth to Two White Babies

Catherine Howarth, a black woman of Nigerian decent, beat the odds after birthing a second white child.

Howarth, 35 stunned doctors and herself after birthing a white, blue-eyed baby boy. During her second pregnancy, Howarth was almost certain that the rare recessive white gene that resulted in son Jonah,3, being completely white would not strike a second time.

She however, was very surprised when the mid-wife brought in her second child looking completely white like her first son. Howarth, believes she is the only black woman in the world to have given birth to two white, blue-eyed children. She said:

“When Jonah was born, a genetic specialist said he was a one-in-a-million baby. He said it was extraordinary with my African background that I’d had a child with blue eyes and pale skin. He calculated the possibility of it happening again was less than one in a million.

So when Sophia was born with white skin and blue eyes I was more than taken back with shock. It seems the odds of it happening twice are millions-to-one. No-one has heard of a black mum having two white babies one after the other.”

She added that when she had her first child, she thought the mid-wife had brought in the wrong child. She also added that often times, people find it difficult to believe she is mother of both kids.

“You can see them doing a double take, wondering if I am their mum. I do get tired of being stopped in the street by people asking if I’m the nanny. People seem to find it hard to understand how I could give birth twice to white children.”

Dad, David Richard, 37, said:

“While it is interesting how the genes have aligned themselves, it doesn’t matter to us what colour our children’s skin is. We just feel incredibly lucky to have a beautiful son and daughter. Having healthy and happy kids is all that matters.”

Catherine, who is of Nigerian heritage reveals that as far as she can recall all her lineage have been black.

“My parents were from Nigeria and as far back as anyone can recall my family have all been black.

 The only explanation seems to be there must have been a white gene in my family that has remained dormant for years until now. And now it seems to be very dominant,” she said.

Colleen Lynch, a Molecular Geneticist at Care Fertility said:

“While you might imagine this couple would have babies who are a mixture of both their skin tones, there are so many genes      involved that it is a million-to-one chance they have had white babies.

 It is likely there is a a white gene somewhere in the woman’s remote ancestry and due to an evolutionary throwback – known as atavism – this trait has suddenly reappeared.”

Photo Credit: Howarth/Futureworld