Down screening for all pregnant women
, don’t you think?
There’s a big change coming for pregnant women: Down syndrome testing no longer hinges on age 35.
This week, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists begins recommending that every pregnant woman, regardless of age, be offered a choice of tests for this common birth defect.
The main reason: Tests far less invasive than the long-used amniocentesis are now widely available, some that can tell in the first trimester the risk of a fetus having Down syndrome or other chromosomal defects.
[…]The new guideline is published in the January issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Now we just need to do this with HIV/AIDS as well, and implement it worldwide now that we are at it.
January 2, 2007 at 8:32 pm
A wise pathology professor once told my class that we shouldn’t order a test unless we though the result might change the management.
There are a lot of women that do not need testing because they would not choose to abort. And ultimately that is what you are testing for. The need to end the pregnancy.
There are huge issues about informed consent with this as too many women are already told that they MUST have these tests without being given information about the consequences of such a test. Unfortunately it may take a few legal suits for antenatal care providers to truly appreciate the importance of informed consent.
January 3, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Why? What is this really about. The baby is a gift. Let nature take its course. Who are we to judge what is worthy to enter the world? I am not pro life. But all the things we do to look for perfection are crazy.
Soon to be able to pre chose the sex, and hair, and eye color etc.. It is not good.
January 3, 2007 at 11:43 pm
We can already choose the traits of a baby, that is no longer technology of the future. As for early detection, if a woman knows that she will not abort, she could benefit anyway from knowing her child will have any sort of disorder. She can read up and be prepared to have a child with Down syndrome or any other defect, and know what she is getting herself into. KNowing ahead of time is not a bad thing!