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Meet The Very Cute Baby Who Was Born Without A Nose

Meet 4-week-old Eli.

Meet 4-week-old Eli.
Sharon Steinmann / AP
Eli was born March 4 in Alabama, but it wasn’t until doctors handed him to his mother, Brandi McGlathery, that she realized he had no nose. 

Known as congenital arhinia, the malformation is extremely rare.

Known as congenital arhinia, the malformation is extremely rare.
Sharon Steinmann / AP
According to a 2014 article published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine on a similar case, at the time, there had been only 43 recorded cases of congenital arhinia since the first was reported in 1931.
It can potentially be life-threatening by causing breathing and feeding problems, but there are known cases of babies making it well into adulthood.

He’s perfect the way he is.”

"He's perfect the way he is."
Sharon Steinmann / AP
McGlathery told the Press-Register she’s already made contact with parents who have had children born without a nose and other patients who have grown up with the malformation.
She and a lactation consultant researched online together on how breastfeed Eli after the tracheotomy, and she has consulted with doctors on what she and her family will have to know to care for the baby at home.