Category: Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)

Mariana

Posted on gracePosted in Fetal Hydrops, Induction/L&D, Stories, Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)

By Andrea My husband and I were excited when we found out that I was pregnant. We have a three-year-old daughter and this baby would have been born around the same time our daughter started kindergarten. Everything happened as planned; it was a very expected pregnancy. The first ultrasound was at 12 weeks. I wasn’t very concerned. It was probably because we didn’t have any problems during our first pregnancy and our daughter was born healthy. Even though my husband really wanted to be there, he couldn’t make it for that ultrasound. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. I completely broke down when I […]

Ethan’s Story

Posted on gracePosted in Congenital Heart Defects, D&E, Religious Perspectives, Stories, Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)

By C.J. This is Ethan’s story–my youngest son. It started out much like I thought for a third pregnancy. I have two healthy children, a girl, age five, and a boy, age three. I was sick with morning/all day sickness. When you are that sick and you have been through it twice before, it is hard to be too excited, but my husband and children were over the moon about the new baby. My son kept looking at my stomach and saying “is it getting bigger?” While my daughter began kissing my growing belly and writing “I love you” cards for her new sibling. My […]

Hope Crushed

Posted on gracePosted in Stories, Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)

By J.G. After having a miscarriage at eight weeks this year, I found out I was pregnant again at around six weeks. I was excited and nervous to be pregnant so soon after miscarrying. I made it past the eight weeks scary zone and I had my first appointment with the genetics counselor at 12 weeks to determine any risks associated with my pregnancy. We opted to do an ultrasound and the new cell-free fetal DNA (Panorama) testing. The ultrasound looked wonderful and showed no soft markers for any kind of birth defects. I was excited that everything looked good and I was almost on […]

Our Baby Boy

Posted on gracePosted in D&E, Stories, Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)

By J.D. I have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), so when my husband and I decided to try getting pregnant earlier this year, we had a difficult time finding that “window” due to my irregular cycles. We were referred to a fertility office where we started months of testing to narrow down the issue and come up with a plan. My husband tested fine and it was determined that I had plenty of eggs, they just weren’t ovulating themselves. We would do ovulation induction with medications and timed intercourse. Our first cycle worked! I couldn’t believe it. I stared at the stick in pure disbelief then […]

Real, not hypothetical

Posted on gracePosted in D&E, Stories, Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)

by R.S. I was living abroad with my spouse and our 2-year-old daughter when I found out I was pregnant. It was an enormous but welcome surprise. I have polycystic ovarian syndrome and it had taken over two years of fertility treatments and two rounds of IVF to conceive our daughter. I didn’t think I could get pregnant spontaneously, and had planned on doing IVF once we moved back to the US a couple of years later. I wanted to be happy, to celebrate the pregnancy, but it just seemed too good to be true. So at first I anticipated miscarriage. Every time I used […]

Survival & Strengthening

Posted on gracePosted in Induction/L&D, Multiple Losses, Stories, Trisomy 18 (Edward's syndrome), Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)

By Anne Mellinger-Birdsong Survived is used in the sense of being stronger for having accomplished a major challenge. I have survived The death of my mother Before I was married Before I had children. I have survived The loss of 3 babies Much wanted and much loved, And that has changed me more Than anything else that ever happened. I have survived The questions and harangues From people who didn’t understand Or flat out disagreed With our decision to induce labor When we found out our baby had Down syndrome (Trisomy 21). Who didn’t know all the medical problems that go with Down syndrome Who […]

Q&A: Would it have made me a better person?

Posted on gracePosted in Omphalocele, Opinion, Q&A, Stories, Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)

Have a question for Ending a Wanted Pregnancy? Email us. QUESTION I terminated my pregnancy following a poor prenatal diagnosis of omphalocele. Recently, I read a memoir called Expecting Adam by Marsha Beck, the mother of a child with Down syndrome who learned of his condition prenatally and chose to continue her pregnancy. It’s making me wonder if a better person would make a different choice than I did. After reading it, I’ve started to second-guess my decision. What if we’d been more willing to change our priorities? If we’d readjusted our life goals? What if I had continued the pregnancy? Would my living children grow to become stronger, gentler […]

The Worst Day of My Life

Posted on gracePosted in D&E, Stories, Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)

By M.V. I am 37 years old and have a healthy 22 month old boy at home. My first pregnancy was a breeze, and I assumed my second one would be as well. At my 12-week ultrasound—which was the day before my birthday— my toddler got fussy so I told my husband to go home with him and that I’d call him after going over the results with my doctor. My doctor walked in and said she had not liked what she saw on the ultrasound, including the absence of nasal bones and a high nuchal fold of 5.2, both indicators of Down syndrome. I was shocked. […]

Q&A: How Do I Comfort Them?

Posted on gracePosted in Q&A, Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), Twin-toTwin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS)

Have a question for Ending a Wanted Pregnancy? Email us. QUESTION I’m not sure if you can help me but, at this stage, I’m open to anything. My brother and his girlfriend, who is 40, were expecting twins. After discovering that they were monochorionic twins, Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) was diagnosed. Based on a decision to aggressively treat the TTTS, they were advised to undergo prenatal screening before embarking on any treatment program. Today, the FISH results of their CVS have indicated Trisomy 21 in 80% of the cells resulting in a diagnosis of Mosaic Down Syndrome. On top of this, the one baby has indications […]