Raising a child with special needs is more challenging but Sarah Palin says she would not trade her son Trig for a more convenient life.

In an article to be published in Newsweek, the former Governor of Alaska admits to being “frightened” and turning to God when she was first told that her baby would be born with Down syndrome.

“When I discovered early in my pregnancy that my baby would be born with an extra chromosome, it frightened me so much that I dared not discuss my pregnancy for many months,” she said.

“All I could seem to muster was a calling out to God to prepare my heart for what was ahead … My prayers were answered beyond my shallow understanding of what true joy could be.”

In the article, the mother-of-five sympathises with Rick Santorum who left the campaign trail to be by the bedside of his three-year-old daughter Bella, who has Trisomy 18, when she was recently hospitalised with pneumonia.

Palin said that parents of children with special needs have to deal with “extra fears and challenges” but was adamant that their children are a “blessing”.

“Certainly some days are much more difficult than if I had a ‘normal’ child," she says.

“Many everyday activities like doctor’s appointments and social gatherings and travel accommodations and even mealtimes and a solid night of sleep are that much more difficult.”

Palin opens up about her family’s fears about people who may be cruel towards Trig because of his condition, but says nothing makes her prouder than when someone smiles at the three-year-old.

“At the end of the day I wouldn’t trade the relative difficulties for any convenience or absence of fear,” she says.

“God knew what he was doing when he blessed us with Trig.

“We went from fear of the unknown to proudly displaying a bumper sticker sent to us that reads: ‘My kid has more chromosomes than your kid!’”