Down Syndrome Awareness: Armenia Woman Files for Divorce From Husband for Keeping Their Newborn Baby With Down Syndrome

The birth of a child should be a joyous occasion, but for Samuel Forrest of Armenia, it was a day of emotional turmoil when he was told by doctors that his newborn son has Down Syndrome, and he received an ultimatum from his wife.

Accompanied by doctors and nurses, Forrest walked into the hospital room to meet his son Leo, Yahoo! News reports.

"When I walked into the room they all turned to me and said 'Leo has Down syndrome," he told ABC News. "I had a few moments of shock."

The news sunk in. Forrest held Leo for the very first time.

"I looked at this guy and I said, he's beautiful -- he's perfect, and I'm absolutely keeping him," he said.

When Forrest walked into his wife's hospital room with Leo, her reaction was not what he expected.

"I got the ultimatum right then," he said. "She told me if I kept him then we would get a divorce."

The baby's mother, Ruzan Badalyan, confirmed to ABC News she has left her husband but declined to elaborate.

Forrest, who's from Auckland, New Zealand, did not know that hospital practices in Armenia allowed parents to decline babies born with certain medical conditions or deformities. His wife had decided not to keep Leo.

The decision was not a difficult one for Forrest. There was no doubt that he'd keep his son, he said.

A week later, Leo's mother filed for divorce.

"It's not what I want," Forrest said. "I didn't even have a chance to speak with her in privately about it."

Forrest, who is employed as a freelance business contractor, plans to move with Leo to his native country of New Zealand where both will receive support from family.

Meanwhile, has been working with disability awareness groups to share his story in the hopes that parents will become better educated on children with special needs.

"After what I've been through with Leo, I'm not going to sit back and watch babies be sent to orphanages," he said. "As a child with Down syndrome, that becomes somewhat of a label. If we can get around this label, we'll see that they're normal. They're a little different from us, but they're still normal."