Down Syndrome is often thought of as something that affects older mothers, so much so that the “advanced maternal age” label is slapped on a woman at the ripe old age of 35 and then the incessant testing begins. For those women who are young and healthy, it often comes as shock that they are even capable of having a child with Down Syndrome, however, the majority of stories that have been shared on this site are written by women under age 35. Women under age 35 are the ones having the most babies so that is why the percentage is higher, not too many women keep having babies (like I did) well past age 35.
For my little one, I was past the magical age of 35. In fact, he is the 3rd child of our 6 children that I gave birth to after I turned 35 years old. My other two children (now aged 5 and 3) are perfectly healthy and have no genetic abnormalities. I was offered a slew of tests due to me being a geriatric obstetric patient (laughing out loud here) but, because I knew of the rates of false positives, and because anything that would have been found through an amniocentesis or other tests would not change my pregnancy, I never submit to the testing.
That is why we were very surprised though, at the birth of our son, Cedar, to learn that he has Down Syndrome. Yes, I am over 35, but here are just a few of the many stories of moms who are under 35, some under 25 who are now blessed with a child who has Down Syndrome.
Down Syndrome Diagnosis under 25 (a first-time mom)
Young mom & a Down Syndrome diagnosis
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