An Aussie mom has shared that she faced harsh criticism, being labeled a ‘monster’ by cruel trolls, for deciding to use laser treatment on her baby’s facial birthmark.

However, the 33-year-old stay-at-home mom, Brooke Atkins, from the Gold Coast, maintains that her choice was made with the well-being of her second child, a baby boy named Kingsley, in mind.

But soon after he was born, Brooke and her partner, Kewene Wallace, 27, noticed a large ‘port wine’ mark covering half of his face.

An Australian mom, Brooke Atkins, faced harsh criticism and was labeled a ‘monster’ by cruel trolls for choosing to use laser treatment on her baby’s facial birthmark. She asserts that her decision was made with the well-being of her child in mind.

Brooke, a 33-year-old stay-at-home mom from the Gold Coast, welcomed her second child, a baby boy named Kingsley, six months ago. However, shortly after his birth, Brooke and her partner, Kewene Wallace, 27, noticed a large ‘port wine’ mark covering half of Kingsley’s face. Kingsley is pictured after undergoing laser treatment.

This can cause seizures and other disabilities, while glaucoma, which can cause blindness. Kingsley was diagnosed with both.

“The thing with port-wine stains is that they are progressive, meaning they will change and darken over time,” Brooke, who is also mom to Amarli, two, said.

Brooke decided to get the birthmark assured off as they can become dangerous and bleed.

A port-wine stain is a birthmark caused by the overdevelopment of blood vessels underneath the skin.

The change in blood vessels is caused by a genetic mutation that occurs before a child is born and will remain for the rest of a person’s life—though the severity differs between people.

Port-wine stains begin as a flat red or purple mark and, over time, can become more raised, bulkier, and darker in color.

They can occur anywhere on the body, but 65 per cent of them appear on a person’s head or neck.

Around three in every 1,000 babies has a port-wine stain, and they are more common in girls than in boys, though the reason for this is not known.

Treatment usually involves laser treatment to remove some of the dark color from the mark or camouflaging the discoloring using a special type of makeup.

“They can develop a ‘cobblestone’ appearance, with raised bumps, ridges, and the risk of vascular blebs, where they dangerously bleed. Once a port-wine stain gets to this stage, it is often very difficult to treat, and laser barely has any effect, as the skin is already far too damaged.”

She then decided to use laser treatment on Kingsley’s mark.

The purpose of the laser treatments is not to ‘remove’ the birthmark but instead to keep the skin healthy, to prevent any further damage to the area, Brooke explained.

“The only way to treat a port-wine stain is through laser treatments, and the most effective laser for it is called a Pulsed Dye Laser.

“When he was first born, we were referred to the Queensland Children’s Hospital dermatology and vascular department, where they organized the first treatment and explained in further detail why laser would be important.

“The purpose of the laser treatments is not to ‘remove’ the birthmark but instead to keep the skin healthy, to prevent any further damage to the area.”

The family is currently going through the treatment with Kingsley and are amazed with him every day.

But the choice to treat the mark has been slammed by trolls on TikTok, who Brooke says called her a ‘monster’ after she shared a post about it.

One person said, ‘Don’t think I could laser my baby.’

Another commented, ‘That birthmark is barely visible, what you’re doing to him is horrible, it’s more for you than him.’

Of the reception she has received online, Brooke said, ‘Honestly, when I first started reading the negative comments, I sat there for a good half an hour and cried to myself.’

Kingsley with mom Brooke after recovering from the laser treatment.

“I had a whole heap of mom guilt and it made me question my decision, even though I knew I was doing the right thing, the cruel words still played in my head.

“Thankfully for every negative comment, there were 100 positive, so it helped a lot!

“I just wish these people had known about the health issues connected to these types of birthmarks before writing these things, that this wasn’t for cosmetic reasons and that as parents, this was the hardest decision we have had to make.

“That the last six months have been extremely hard on us and reading these comments actually do hurt – this is the last thing we need, judgment from those who have no understanding around my son’s conditions.”

She added, “Although I constantly worry about my son’s future and what it will be like, he continues to hit all his milestones.

“This journey for our family has just started and there is a long road ahead but we will push through!

“Over 20 hospital appointments, two different hospitals, over 10 different specialists and doctors, five different medical departments, three MRIs, one ultrasound, two hearing tests, two operations, two laser treatments, and three diagnoses, all in six months – yet he is the happiest, most loving and sweetest boy you will ever meet!”