We got the results of the amniocentesis a couple of days ago; but, I've been to busy to post anything until now. Both girls are without detectable genetic defects at this point. More than anything else I feel relieved. We have one more check-up in two weeks to take a good look at their hearts. If that turns out well then there should be no more issues to worry about with their health until birth (where the worry is that they'll be too premature.)
At this point I'm having trouble thinking of the girls as anything other than two tiny human beings.
Showing posts with label down's syndrome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label down's syndrome. Show all posts
05 January 2008
19 December 2007
Its a girl (or two)
We had the amniocentesis today. Hopefully everything turns out OK and there will be no Down's Syndrome. We'll find out in three weeks.
We did see lots of images of the fetuses today. Its really hard not to think of them as babies. They look human in many ways, though their only about 6-7 cm long. We could see them rubbing their eyes and stretching or tossing & turning as they tried to sleep. Incredible!
They're both female. With a house full of three women, I'm sure I'll be reduced to being a wallet and a warm bed to sleep on. Not that I mind. :)
We did see lots of images of the fetuses today. Its really hard not to think of them as babies. They look human in many ways, though their only about 6-7 cm long. We could see them rubbing their eyes and stretching or tossing & turning as they tried to sleep. Incredible!
They're both female. With a house full of three women, I'm sure I'll be reduced to being a wallet and a warm bed to sleep on. Not that I mind. :)
19 October 2007
Twins, here we come
Fantastic news today! We had another ultra sound and were able to see heartbeats for both embryos. We now have a 90%+ chance for each embryo to survive.
There’s still the worry of Down’s Syndrome, which is about 1/60 for each embryo. The test for Down’s Syndrome has a 1/300 chance for resulting in miscarriage, which is pretty scary. Living with two handicapped children the rest of our lives is out of the question, though. So we don’t have much of a choice.
Off to Michigan for the next few days to enjoy a bit of colorful foliage. Cheers!
There’s still the worry of Down’s Syndrome, which is about 1/60 for each embryo. The test for Down’s Syndrome has a 1/300 chance for resulting in miscarriage, which is pretty scary. Living with two handicapped children the rest of our lives is out of the question, though. So we don’t have much of a choice.
Off to Michigan for the next few days to enjoy a bit of colorful foliage. Cheers!
28 September 2007
Here's a question
What do we do about down's syndrome? Assuming we do end up with a child, right now there is a significant chance of us having at least one child with down's syndrome. Greater than 1%. With possibly three embryos, that means there is a small chance of multiple down's syndrome children. Terrifying, yes.
Most parents who find that their child has down's syndrome early in the pregnancy end up terminating the pregnancy. Given the difficulty we have creating a viable embryo, is it worth the chance of not having another child at all? That depends on what we, as parents, want to get out of creating a living human being. Knowing that my drive for having a child is primarily instinctual, I would say having a healthy and productive child is important. I may possibly prefer instinctually to bring no life into this world rather than to bring a burden into this world.
What about the embryo's life? It's not close to viable life outside the womb by the time we can discover down's syndrome. Its hard to truly call it a child, though at some point it becomes more definitively human. Given that I felt a sense of responsibility for the life of 8 celled organisms, I suspect that I will want to keep the embryo with down’s syndrome alive as well.
Tough call.
--e (forgot the all important stoned e)
Most parents who find that their child has down's syndrome early in the pregnancy end up terminating the pregnancy. Given the difficulty we have creating a viable embryo, is it worth the chance of not having another child at all? That depends on what we, as parents, want to get out of creating a living human being. Knowing that my drive for having a child is primarily instinctual, I would say having a healthy and productive child is important. I may possibly prefer instinctually to bring no life into this world rather than to bring a burden into this world.
What about the embryo's life? It's not close to viable life outside the womb by the time we can discover down's syndrome. Its hard to truly call it a child, though at some point it becomes more definitively human. Given that I felt a sense of responsibility for the life of 8 celled organisms, I suspect that I will want to keep the embryo with down’s syndrome alive as well.
Tough call.
--e (forgot the all important stoned e)
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