'Dear Future Mom' Ad Celebrates Living With Down Syndrome

A Down syndrome organization in Italy has just provided an expectant mom with more encouragement than she’d probably hoped for: personal assurance from 15 people with the disorder that her in utero child, already diagnosed, will lead a meaningful life. “Don’t be afraid,” says one woman. Others chime in with: “He’ll be able to do many things,” “He’ll be able to hug you,” and “He’ll be able to speak and tell you he loves you.”

More on Yahoo Shine: Boy With Down Syndrome Gets Huge Surprise When He Receives Acceptance Letter From Clemson

The two-and-a-half-minute video was created by ad giant Saatchi & Saatchi Italy for CoorDown, Italy’s National Coordination of Associations of People With Down Syndrome, in honor of World Down Syndrome Day on March 21. It’s being shared on social media with the hashtag #DearFutureMom and already has more than 500,000 views on YouTube, where it was posted Thursday. Twitter fans are growing, with people declaring it “touching,” “wonderful,” “fantastic,” and “the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Ever.”

More on Yahoo: Down Syndrome: A Year of Grief and Joy

The campaign ad begins with these words across the screen: “On the 9th of February, we received this email from a future mom. ‘I’m expecting a baby. I’ve discovered he has Down syndrome. I’m scared: What kind of life will my child have?’ Today we reply to her like this.”

The folks in the ad include both children and adults, filmed across Europe and speaking in their native languages. And while most of the responses are positive assurances — he’ll be able to go to school, learn to write, travel, and work, say the subjects — they also include realistic warnings, like “Sometimes it will be difficult,” “Very difficult,” “Almost impossible.” "But," one young man adds, “isn’t it like that for all mothers?” At the end, some moms jump into the frame to hug their children, their proud smiles providing, perhaps, the best reassurance of all.

More on Yahoo Shine:
Life After Down Syndrome
Teen Basketball Player With Down Syndrome Wows on the Court … and Heads to the Pros