Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum will not campaign Monday to stay at the side of his 3-year-old daughter Bella in the hospital, his campaign said.

"Rick Santorum will not hold any campaign related events on Monday so that he and Karen can remain in the hospital with their daughter Bella.  The entire Santorum family is incredibly grateful for the outpouring of prayers and support," Santorum national communications director Hogan Gidley said.

Bella suffers from Trisomy 18, a chromosomal defect that claims the lives of most children born with it in their first year. The reason for her hospitalization this week hasn't been released.

Santorum is home in Virginia for the Easter holiday.

This is the second time during the campaign that Bella has needed to be taken to a hospital. Santorum canceled events in late January after Bella was rushed to a Virginia hospital when she developed pneumonia in both lungs.

Santorum's ailing daughter taken to the hospital

Santorum's daughter defies odds with Trisomy 18