October Down Syndrome Awareness Facts- Day 2

This is day #2 of my Facts about Down Syndrome to play my part in spreading awareness.  I was quite surprised when I read this fact, that 1 in 700 pregnancies are, in fact, positive for Down Syndrome.  Trisomy 21, Down Syndrome, is the most common genetic abnormality known.  But wait, if 1 in 700 pregnancies result in Down Syndrome, why don’t we see more individuals with Down Syndrome in the general population?  This piece of information is hard to swallow but it is likely because in most developed countries fear permeates and it has been estimated that between 60-90% of mothers who learn of a Down Syndrome diagnosis prenatally will terminate their pregnancies.

One of my greatest hopes is that by running this site, and spreading awareness of just how un-scary a Down Syndrome diagnosis is…maybe someday a mother will read something here that will encourage her to continue her pregnancy. Even if a mother feels she is ill-equipped to deal with a child who has special needs, there are a slew of parents who are willing to adopt and parent those children.  Just click on and read these, a few that have been shared on this site about adoption.

Max & Jude: Down Syndrome Adoption

Choosing Wyatt

Peanut’s Forever Family

Though the diagnosis was scary at first, ours was a birth diagnosis, I know that I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I purposely chose not to have any testing done during my pregnancy because I would not consider anything besides carrying my child to term, regardless of any diagnosis that testing would show. Cedar has been nothing short of the unexpected blessing we never knew we wanted, but wouldn’t give up for the world.