Friday, April 10, 2015

Genes

During our first pregnancy, we were offered genetic testing around 13 weeks gestation. We declined, assuming that anyone who would test their baby for genetic abnormalities must only be doing so to decide whether or not to terminate the pregnancy. As "good Christians," we would never abort our baby, so we would certainly forego the testing.

My obstetrician explained that while yes, some people do make that choice, most parents choose the testing in order to ease anxiety over uncertainty. She said many people would like to know BEFORE the birth so they can be prepared not only for the news but also to accommodate any special needs.

I was very healthy and we were both certain our baby would be genetically flawless; and even if not, the test results wouldn't hinder us from keeping our baby. We stood by our decision to not test.

Diana was born perfectly after 13 hours of labor. We were told shortly afterward that she appeared to have Down syndrome. I also had a hard time learning to breastfeed, and as a result, Diana lost 15% of her birth weight in a week. She needed a vigilant feeding schedule until she gained the weight back. This feeding schedule included nursing for 20 minutes at each side, then another 20 minutes at the breast pumping while Daddy bottlefed her pumped milk. She had acid reflux so one of us then spent the next 20 minutes holding her upright while the other washed bottle and pump parts.

We were feeding her EVERY TWO HOURS in the beginning, so we then had less than an hour until we needed to start over again. This was around the clock. We had our alarms set to wake us all up through the night and make sure our baby was getting fed.

No one had the time, stamina, or concentration to read (or be read to!) about Down syndrome during those sleepless weeks. It would have been great to find out what we needed to know BEFORE the exhausting newborn days--which also included endless doctor appointments for weight checks and specialists.

We were ignorant and nearly powerless to educate ourselves. We vowed that if we ever conceived again (and we hoped to), we would take the genetic testing.

Our baby is 9 months old and we are 13 weeks pregnant with our second child. Last week I went in for the testing. All they did was take ONE vial of blood from my ARM. Some of the baby's DNA is in my blood, so the test doesn't need to be any more invasive than that to check for chromosomal abnormalities.

Our doctor called with the test results one week later and reported our new baby did not have any of the conditions the test detects. We were extremely relieved, not only for this news but because our minds were at rest.

The funny thing about chromosomes is that they also tell us more basic information about humans, like sex. XX for female, XY for male. My doctor then asked if we wanted to know whether we were having a boy or a girl. "Yes!" I breathlessly answered.

Baby #2 is a girl!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Congratulations on your second baby girl!!!!