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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

AIBU to be frightened of my child having a disability that runs in the family

127 replies

daffodilsoverthebridge · 20/03/2016 07:20

Opinion seems to be divided as to whether or not it is genetic and there's no prenatal screening.

I am now in the awful position where I want a baby but am petrified of passing it down. W

OP posts:
ovenchips · 21/03/2016 14:00

OP you are seeking an assurance that no-one can give you.

Plenty of people have to consider risks and probabilities about all sorts of things before they try to have children.

Having a child is a leap of faith. If you are going to consciously plan a child that leap is part of it.

You seem unable to take that leap, so I guess your choices are to tackle the anxiety you have about having a child with autism then either choose to leap or not. There honestly aren't other options (you have ruled out adoption and egg donation)!

I have a child with severe autism. There was zero autism in the whole family tree so in that sense completely unexpected. We then had another child knowing our elder one had a disability.

As I say people have to consider all sorts of risks and probabilities.

insan1tyscartching · 21/03/2016 21:12

My fourth child has autism, it was completely out of the blue as there is no autism on either side of the family. For a while I thought it ironic that I should have a child with a disability because I was always adamant that I would screen for everything and terminate the pregnancy rather than raise a child with a disability. Luckily I didn't know and I loved ds dearly by the time he was diagnosed at two and a half. Ds's chromosomes are normal,it was felt that we were unlucky, even so, I had no intention of having any more children.
Someone,somewhere had other ideas and when ds was 8 I had dd. I didn't particularly worry, ds was a blip, we had been unlucky,it was a girl the chances were better...... dd was diagnosed with autism around her second birthday.
I won't deny it has been hard work, I have cried with frustration,I've railed at the unfairness but ds and dd have brought a lot of joy.As a family we know better what is important and we laugh a lot.
Yes I wouldn't have signed up for it and I would jump at the chance of a cure (for them though not for me) but I wouldn't change the things I have learned nor the way our family has grown because of the autism.
I'd say YANBU to not want to raise a child with a disability but YWBU to let your fears rule your life.

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