Am I being too sensitive?!?!?

[eidsvold]

I did a search re CVS testing just to look for some information and I came across this page....

here

basically this is what is printed under CVS...

This is a diagnostic test which can tell you for certain whether your baby has Down?s syndrome or another genetic abnormality. The test can?t tell you whether your baby has spina bifida.

When is the test carried out?

Between 11 and 13 weeks of pregnancy.

You have to wait about 10 days for the results. This means that if your baby has Down?s and you want to terminate your pregnancy, you can do so well before you start to feel your baby kicking.

Am i being too sensitive or is this just unacceptable??? Strangely no other chromosonal condition is mentioned regarding the termination aspect......

It could be better written, but it's written to be understandable not impartial. Downs is the only chromosone defect most people will have heard of; many (perhaps most) people won't even know what the words "chromosone defect" mean, but they will have an idea what Downs Syndrome is.

I definitely see your point. The way it's written makes it sound as though a termination would be the next step to take after discovering your baby had DS. It may just be badly written but it felt 'wrong' to me too and I have no personal experience of DS.

I can see exactly what you mean. I'm sorry if you were searching for information so you could answer my question, and this is what you've had to read

It's definitely badly written. It should say "if there is a problem..." or something similar.

I guess you're always going to be sensitive with this subject, however it's put, but I agree the wording on that site is wrong.

I find it really odd that such emphasis is placed on the advantage of being able to terminate before feeling the baby kicking, Sure it might make the termination easier to compartmentalise for want of another word, but it doesn't make it any less real. I would hope someone choosing termination would get better councilling than that.

the thing i find terrible about the whole thing is that when a descion is made to terminate- there is no idea just how 'bad' the abnormality would have been-it's like saying my sons could have been aborted if i'd known they'd be 'autistic'.....however in reality they are living fantastic lives- now i know there is a huge difference betwwn my 'mildly' autistic (severe behavioural probs which are anything but mild'- but you know what i mean- they can talk and walk and do various other things unaided)- and a child who has to depend fully on someone for everything - however the point being that when someone has to make this descion they have no idea whether the child would be 'mildly' or ' severley' disabled- and to me this makes it an even harder descion to make - and one which i would never be able to make so would not have the test. Example- a friend's 3rd child has DS- and is 'mildly' affected- so leads a very indapendant life (college/parttime job) and i look at her and think- if the test had been around when she was yet to be born- and it had indicated DS- and my friend had had an abortion 'before she felt the first kick' then this young lady would not have been to college etc...However- i am not critising here those who would do otherwise- it's just the test i wish was different.

agree its clumsy, but I suppose the main point they are trying to get across is that you can opt for a termination before you feel your babys movements. Could certainly be worded better though, am sorry its upset you

no emsie I was looking for a website that would be able to explain it better than my clumsy way... I am pretty thick skinned so don't feel bad...

I was more shocked by the thought of wanting to terminate before you felt the baby kicking than the emphasis on Down's syndrome.... have accepted that people may not agree with us for having dd and if in the same situation would terminate. I then thought of people who may be searching for information and this is what they come across.

eidsvold I suppose they do just use down syndrome because people know what it is. Even on our genetic counselling session the genetic doctor kept reffering to down syndrome, so much so that we had convinced ourselves that she was suggesting that dd had actually got DS!! (tamum put me straight though!) We have cystic fibrosis in our family and cvs is used for detecting this too. But you would be amazed how many people dont know what CF is. People ask me if my sister could walk and talk, and understand properly (!!???) er yes. Sorry I am waffling now.

my thoughts entirely eidsvold.

on the subject of diasbility- I've had the same fio2. A few weeks ago I told someone ds1 was autistic and they asked whether he was in a wheelchair.