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A prenatal blood test can be used to determine if an unborn baby has Down's syndrome without the small risk to the fetus posed by invasive testing methods
such as amniocentesis, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Researchers led by Stephen Quake of Stanford University in California
created a way to look for the extra chromosomes that cause Down's and similar
birth detects in the tiny amounts of fetal DNA that circulate in the mother's
blood.
The test, which requires a small blood sample from the mother, is safer
than amniocentesis, in which a needle is stuck into the uterus, and can be done
earlier in a pregnancy.
You can read the full article here...
3 comments:
Why is it necessary to test for Downs Syndrome prenatally? (unless you are planning to terminate that is)
In response to the above comment, I believe testing is a great idea, especially for those who plan not to terminate. Speaking from experience (my brother has Downs Syndrome,) there are so many things to prepare for when welcoming a special needs child into your life - even at the very beginning, early therapy and medical vigilance at birth can prevent undue health complications and developmental delays. Aside from those particular issues, there's always a sort of mourning parents go through when they find out their child won't be "normal" - parents who go through the majority of that process before their child is born are more prepared to devote their time and energy to providing their child with a more positive and proactive start in life.
Of course the sad reality is that the majority of women who find out they're carrying a child with Downs Syndrome choose to abort.
Unfortunately right now the % of pregnancies that are terminated for babies with down syndrome is 95%. Only about 1% of these find out before and choose not to (like me), but the rest that weren't terminated didn't find out prenatally. I found out prenatally through a routine ultrasound that my baby had down syndrome and I do agree that I had dealt with it by the time I had my son and was able to focus on him being healthy. I personally think this test is terrible because this means the termination rate will probably go from 95% to about 99%. If I were to have another pregnancy, I would definitely not have this test. They say they are doing it so the Mom can "prepare" but what they are doing is trying to eliminate the down syndrome population, which is sad. Obviously this is a very personal issue for me and being very pro-life and having my son with down syndrome makes this test very sad for me.
Also just as a side note - its Down Syndrome, not Downs syndrome.
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