Comments on: Prenatal Testing And Dilemmas of Giving Birth To A Child With Down’s Syndrome!

By: Juju Fatah

Juju Fatah — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 22:11:10 +0000

This is ridiculous.

This sentence is patently not true:

Researchers challenge the idea that reducing the incidence of Down syndrome through termination is honorable and that people with Down syndrome would be welcomed and seen as valuable members of our community.

No research suggests this. No research indicates this. Down’s Syndrome children are a tremendous burden on their families, both financially and otherwise, and a total loss to society.

By: yaagoot hassan

yaagoot hassan — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 18:43:09 +0000

how can people give birth alone???

By: mohd imran

mohd imran — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 09:19:49 +0000

it’s realy a vary good picture of such case.

By: Terri

Terri — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:23:48 +0000

When I was pregnant at age thirty, I was given the option to go get a maternal serum test by my doctor. I asked her, “What is this test all about?” She said, “It is to detect the likelihood of your fetus having Downs Syndrome.” I was so naive, I asked her, “Why would I want to know that?” She hemmed and hawed and answered, “It is so you can make a choice of your course of action over the pregnancy and be prepared for what is to come.” She gave me the paper and told me it was up to me if I wanted to get the test done. If it showed positive, then I would be given the option to go for more tests. As I left the doctors that day, I realized what this test was all about. It gave me such a sick feeling in my stomach when I realized the way women (who are already worried about their pregnany to begin with) are sucked into a vicious trap (and it is definately a trap) foisted on them by the medical community that is only there for one reason – use fear to manipulate a perfectly healthy woman into undergoing a search and destroy mission on her fetus. Needless to say, I did not get the test done and my child was perfectly healthy. I am now 38 and if I was to get pregnant again, I would decline all testing. If I am going to give birth to a child that is not perfect, I would rather find that out after birth, not before. If the child has a defect where they wil die after birth, I would rather give birth and have them die a natural death then have them die by my hand – that is something I could not live with. As far as I am concerned, subtly forcing these tests on women without telling them exactly what it all about is a major violation of medical ethics.

By: Deirdre Morris

Deirdre Morris — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:44:13 +0000

Is prenatal testing actually reinforcing an unjustifiable fear of disability?

I would say so. The very process of testing does suggest that there is something to fear and that there is something ‘wrong’ with Down’s Syndrome (or other ‘disabilities’).

It serves to changes the lenses through which we view the new life. And with a positive result, the baby growing in your womb suddenly tranforms from being a baby to being a condition.

It seems to me that it is this subtle shift in attention that actually causes the despair. When you just focus on the condition, you have lost ‘your baby’.

When we (parents and society) can rememebr that she/he is a baby first….a completely unique gift to the world then we can open up to the adventure that lies ahead.

Nevertheless, the reality is that the idea of Down’s Syndrome or other disability does cause anxiety ( I know I have felt it) even when we can appreciate it as something different rather than something wrong.

But we don’t have to feel despair or fear.

See http://magicalbeginningsforbaby.com/pregnancy-fears-of-downs-syndrome-and-emotional-freedom-technique-eft/ for a recent blogpost that explores this further.

Deirdre Morris
Inspiring Magical Beginnings