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December 2010 Moms
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Interesting Stats on Down Syndrome in US & UK

our1stbaby2010our1stbaby2010 member
in December 2010 Moms

After reading a post by Chrisandcassie yesterday it got my mind going on  how heart wrenching it must be to be in that position that they are in of having to decide if they're LO will Live or Die?  My t&p are still with them and I'm hoping for the best case scenerio to unfold in their lives soon.

I just had no idea how big the life and death gap was!  Check out these numbers:

"When it comes to the chance for those with genetic defects to live, the news has not been good on either side of the Atlantic. Last week?s Telegraph reported that of all women in the U.K. who find out through prenatal testing that their baby will have Down syndrome, about 90 percent choose to have an abortion. And yesterday, ABC News reported a near-identical rate among women in the U.S.: 92 percent of those who find out their child will have the chromosomal defect decide to abort. One geneticist at Children?s Hospital Boston found that, without prenatal testing, the number of Down syndrome births would have increased by 34 percent between 1989 and 2009. Instead, the number of Down syndrome births has dropped by 15 percent over that time." 11-2009

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Re: Interesting Stats on Down Syndrome in US & UK

  • ChicagoBroad26ChicagoBroad26 member
    Wow. Those are startling statistics.
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  • aboveweddingabovewedding
    That's really sad.
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  • JulietL129JulietL129
    Wow... for some reason I just didn't think the number of terminations for Down syndrome would be so high. 
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  • jcrawford76jcrawford76

    imageJulietL129:
    Wow... for some reason I just didn't think the number of terminations for Down syndrome would be so high. 

    I'm absolutely shocked.

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  • IncogNeatoIncogNeato member

    I've always believed that people can't truly know what they would do in that sort of situation until they're in it, and the statistics back that up. I bet many of that 92% didn't think they would make the choice they did.

    I wonder what the statistics are for the other trisomies. 

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  • AndysGrl08AndysGrl08
    That just brought me to tears. I guess everyone is different, but I just don't understand it.
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  • em_713em_713 member
    I agree as well. I think a lot of people say they wouldn't, but no one really knows until they are in that situation. Everyone I have ever talked to about it has said they would never abort, and yet that statistic doesn't back that up. I personally have no idea what I would do with DS. I do know that if the baby's quality of life would be very poor and there would be a high likelyhood of death, I would do it. I know of someone who didn't believe in abortions and knew the baby would have multiple complications and would need tons of surgeries and would have little chance of surviving a long life. They decided to keep the baby, but gave it no chance of living once it was born (i.e., did not allow surgeries or extra help for the baby). The baby ended up living a couple of weeks. To me, I would not be able to do that and would feel similar in that case to people who would not believe in aborting. I would think the baby suffered unnecessarily and I don't agree with that, personally anyway. In the end, I believe everyone has to make the best choice for themselves since they will be the ones living with the consequences.
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  • jessiesnwbrdjessiesnwbrd member

    imageAndysGrl08:
    That just brought me to tears. I guess everyone is different, but I just don't understand it.

    this...it breaks my heart.

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  • Smores730Smores730 member
    wow I'm shocked at the numbers too. While it saddens me too, I know for sure that I'd abort in the same situation.
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  • britne08britne08 member
    WOW I am kind of floored, I had no idea it was that common to abort for down syndrome.
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  • tiffanyptiffanyp member
    I'm surprised by the statistic as well, but I would most likely be in the 92%.
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  • ccbelle123ccbelle123

    The numbers make sense.  The average age of woman getting pregnant is growing higher and higher due to them waiting as well as taking alternative measures to help conceive.  The odds of DS increase w/ age so it's natural that the rate of babies w/ DS would also increase - if they were born.  Older women are also more likely to have lots of prenatal tests to look for chromosomal abnormalities.

    I can't even fathom having to sit down w/ DH and make that decision.

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