Downsyn.com -Information & resources for parents of kids with Down Syndrome
Title
Down Syndrome: For New Parents
Description
Michel and I were married in 1984. We had some difficulty starting a family and our first child, Elizabeth, wasn't born until 1992. Michel had to have laser surgery to clear up a problem with endometriosis before she was able to get pregnant. Early in this pregnancy, Michel went for a test called AFP. The AFP is normally used to determine if the child has spina bifida. Too high a result means that proteins from the fetus are leaking into the amniotic fluid. This could mean that there is an open hole in the baby's back that is allowing these proteins to leak out. Beth's result was low which can mean Down Syndrome. The doctors next recommended amniocentisis to rule out Down Syndrome. We had the test and the results came back normal. Beth did not have Down Syndrome. In November, Beth was born. She was a happy and healthy baby.
We had further problems having a second child, and Michel didn't get pregnant again until 1996. In the tenth week of that pregnancy, on April 11, 1996, we lost our child. At the end of that month, my father died after a long fight with Alzheimer's disease. April, 1996 was one of the worst months that Michel and I have had to endure. By the end of the summer, Michel was again expecting. This child was Michael.
This pregnancy was harder on Michel than her pregnancy with Beth had been. Michael was giving Michel a tough time with Morning Sickness (really All-Day Sickness), asthma attacks, and tachycardia. That combined with our fear of another miscarriage made this a miserable pregnancy. Michel waited with great worry every time she was scheduled for a sonogram. We decided not to have any testing done on our child because (1) the bad AFP result we had with Beth (2) the 1 in 200 chance of a miscarriage with amnio and (3) because we wouldn't do anything about the results no matter what they were. Michel's doctor was very supportive of our decision and never suggested that we did the wrong thing.
