DOWN SYNDROME: A LIFE-LONG DISORDER
Imagine facing two choices: parents having to abort their unborn baby, or they go through the pregnancy knowing their child is going to have Down syndrome, knowing that raising him or her will not be easy. Many parents face this choice everyday. According to Peggy Parks, author of Down Syndrome, 80 to 90 percent of unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted (19). Everyday, all around the world babies are diagnosed with Down syndrome and parents are facing this choice. Down syndrome is a physical and mental disorder resulting from a chromosome malfunction in their DNA. Down syndrome is a complex disorder that can have a wide range of effects and little to no treatment, resulting in patients having …show more content…
As Peggy Parks states in Down Syndrome, Down syndrome usually develops before fertilization of the egg occurs (8). This is why doctors are able to test for Down syndrome before the fetus is even considered to have viability--which is the ability for a fetus to live out of the womb. The two test that are used to test for Down syndrome in fetuses are chorionic villus sampling, which is taking a tissue sample from the fetus. The second type of test is called amniocentesis, which is taking a sample of amniotic fluid, the fluid that surrounds the fetus in the womb (Parks 18). These tests are mostly accurate but a few women who get tested for Down syndrome in their baby will be given false-positive tests (Wood). Not all parents have their baby tested; some prefer to not know. According to Rosalyn Carson-DeWitt and Bryan Cobb in the article “Down Syndrome” if parents did not choose to get there baby tested and a doctor did not recommend a test Down syndrome can easily be identified at birth; “Down syndrome can be diagnosed at birth, when the characteristic physical signs of Down syndrome are noted and chromosome analysis can also be performed to confirm the diagnosis and determine the recurrence risks” (Carson-DeWitt, Cobb). Down syndrome is normally not a disorder that goes unidentified because of the strong characteristics and the …show more content…
Down syndrome causes birth defects medical problems, and some intellectual disability (Wood). Down syndrome affects psychic-emotional system. This leads to some social aspect issues and delayed mental development (Courtney). Although children with Down syndrome may have a low IQ, this does not mean they can not learn and grow mentally with the proper help (Kozma 23-24). Down syndrome affects physical, mental and also increases disease susceptibility, “As people with Down syndrome age, they face an increased risk of developing Alzheimer disease, a degenerative disease that affects the brain” (Carson-Dewitt, Cobb). Alzheimer disease is just one of the many diseases people with Down syndrome are more susceptible to. Another example would be cancers, “Children with Down syndrome are also at least 10 times as likely as those without it to develop leukemia, which is a cancer of the blood” (Parks
Imagine facing two choices: parents having to abort their unborn baby, or they go through the pregnancy knowing their child is going to have Down syndrome, knowing that raising him or her will not be easy. Many parents face this choice everyday. According to Peggy Parks, author of Down Syndrome, 80 to 90 percent of unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are aborted (19). Everyday, all around the world babies are diagnosed with Down syndrome and parents are facing this choice. Down syndrome is a physical and mental disorder resulting from a chromosome malfunction in their DNA. Down syndrome is a complex disorder that can have a wide range of effects and little to no treatment, resulting in patients having …show more content…
As Peggy Parks states in Down Syndrome, Down syndrome usually develops before fertilization of the egg occurs (8). This is why doctors are able to test for Down syndrome before the fetus is even considered to have viability--which is the ability for a fetus to live out of the womb. The two test that are used to test for Down syndrome in fetuses are chorionic villus sampling, which is taking a tissue sample from the fetus. The second type of test is called amniocentesis, which is taking a sample of amniotic fluid, the fluid that surrounds the fetus in the womb (Parks 18). These tests are mostly accurate but a few women who get tested for Down syndrome in their baby will be given false-positive tests (Wood). Not all parents have their baby tested; some prefer to not know. According to Rosalyn Carson-DeWitt and Bryan Cobb in the article “Down Syndrome” if parents did not choose to get there baby tested and a doctor did not recommend a test Down syndrome can easily be identified at birth; “Down syndrome can be diagnosed at birth, when the characteristic physical signs of Down syndrome are noted and chromosome analysis can also be performed to confirm the diagnosis and determine the recurrence risks” (Carson-DeWitt, Cobb). Down syndrome is normally not a disorder that goes unidentified because of the strong characteristics and the …show more content…
Down syndrome causes birth defects medical problems, and some intellectual disability (Wood). Down syndrome affects psychic-emotional system. This leads to some social aspect issues and delayed mental development (Courtney). Although children with Down syndrome may have a low IQ, this does not mean they can not learn and grow mentally with the proper help (Kozma 23-24). Down syndrome affects physical, mental and also increases disease susceptibility, “As people with Down syndrome age, they face an increased risk of developing Alzheimer disease, a degenerative disease that affects the brain” (Carson-Dewitt, Cobb). Alzheimer disease is just one of the many diseases people with Down syndrome are more susceptible to. Another example would be cancers, “Children with Down syndrome are also at least 10 times as likely as those without it to develop leukemia, which is a cancer of the blood” (Parks