One mom is using social media to show her daughter how beautiful she is.
Winry Hall was born with a rare birthmark called congenital melanocytic nevi, or CMN, which makes her look different from many other children. Her mom Nicole has taken to TikTok to share her condition in a positive light, celebrating how unique it makes her 13-month-old daughter look with her 198,000 plus followers.
In an interview with Good Morning America, Hall opened up about how she has promoted awareness of CMN through her TikTok, where she shares fun videos of her baby daughter.
"For a lot of people, this is the first time seeing a birthmark like hers and that's part of why I enjoy sharing," Hall said. "This is a good conversation for parents with their children to see kids have differences, or for those parents who do have a kid that looks like Winry or has any kind of a birthmark to see their child represented."
According to a report by the National Organization for Rare Diseases, CMN are "visible pigmented (melanocytic) proliferations in the skin that are present at birth." They can range in color from light brown to black, and can cover any part of the body of any size.
Although CMN can put you at a higher risk of developing melanoma, Hall said she worries less about her daughter developing cancer than she does about her being bullied for her birthmark. However, she still takes extra precautions with exposure to the sun.
"Her health and happiness are our top priority. We have to monitor her with sunscreen. I'm careful with hats and that sort of thing," said the mom, adding: "I know our regular dermatology appointment is probably going to be our best friend growing up."
Meanwhile, TikTok has helped Hall to get in touch with people from around the world with similar cases of CMN. "We've got to talk to several people from Brazil with birthmarks," she told Good Morning America. "One of them has one that is almost identical to Winry and it's been so fun to talk to her because she's almost exactly my age."
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