Down's Screening for All Women

This week a new recommendation from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is to screen all pregnant mothers regardless of age, for Down Syndrome.

In the past, only women age 35 or older were recommended to be screened for Down Syndrome. The new ACOG press release indicated that the latest recommendations now include all pregnant women.

The new recommendations include offering the Nuchal Fold Translucency in addition to the AFP blood test. Women at risk should be offered the CVS or Amniocentesis. ACOG recommends that all women be screened for Down Syndrome prior to 20 weeks of pregnancy.

In my series on prenatal testing, I touch on the difficulties that many of these tests can cause including high rates of false positives or the need for more invasive testing. Many times mothers are placed in situations where they must make a decision to carry their baby or induce an abortion. At times, the tests themselves cause complications including miscarriage.

I have very mixed feeling about the information given to parents in prenatal tests. I think we open up a can of worms by knowing too much. I also wonder what damage is done when tests are wrong or right and mothers experience stress for months at a time. Are we too focused on an ideal of the "perfect child" that we can't accept anything less than that?

Too many questions and not enough answers...

What are your thoughts about this new recommendation - pro or con? Let's talk on the forum.

Brenda