If something goes wrong during an ultrasound and they find out your baby has Down's Syndrome etc, does the Dr.

Question

Does the Dr, encourage termination?. Do all obstetricians perform abortions or do they refer ppl to an abortion clinic. I am not in this situation, my baby is healthy and I do not believe in abortion, but I am curious....serious answers only.

Answer 1

I had an amniocentesis. The results showed that my daughter had Down's Syndrome. My OB explained as much as he could to my husband and I, then sent us immediately from his office to a genetics specialist. Both she and my OB did not form an opinion, they just gave us as much information as they could so we could make our own decision. We were told that because of the law in our state regarding the time limit to terminate, if we did decide to terminate, we would have to inform my OB within a few days to make arrangements.

I have always considered myself pro-choice, but the thought of terminating was never even considered by my husband and I. We decided to educate ourselves to help prepare for our daughter and I had additional tests done during my pregnancy. I am so thankful we trusted our instincts. Although the amnio results were confirmed with a blood test at birth, had we not had the test we would have never known. Our daughter doesn't have any physical characteristics of DS or any developmental delays.

Some doctors may try to pursuade their patients if they have strong beliefs about abortion, but really they should not state their opinions to their patients, rather just inform them so that the patient can make their own decision.

I'm sure if your doctor discovered anything like that, they would refer you to a genetics specialist. If they don't, ask them to. You should really get all the facts from a specialist.

Best of luck to you.

I just wanted to add, there are some characteristics of Down's Syndrome that can be seen by an ultrasound, such as thick skin on the back of the neck and shorter femur bones. However, if your doctor suspects DS based on an ultrasound, then you should have an amniocentesis to confirm it. There is a risk of miscarriage with an amnio, but it's less than 2%.

Answer 2

The DR, If a moral person, should give the parents all their options in an unbiased manner as is their job. However I am sure that there are physicians out there who would attempt to sway the decision to terminate or not based on their own personal beliefs. I know there are because I have a perfectly beautiful 29 yr old son whom I was encouraged to terminate. Personally I don't belive in abortion either but feel the decision should be between the parents and their God.

Answer 3

I have heard of few reason the doctors would ask for termination and that is if the baby has 0 chance of living outside the womb but not for downs. Down syndrome can be a scary thing but it's not a death sentence. People with down syndrome can lead very close to normal lives. I know some people chose to abort because their child isn't "perfect" to me that's insane. This is how I feel if there was something wrong with my child wether it be downs or potters or any other syndrome and they had no chance of life outside the womb I would still not terminate. As long as the child is alive then I will let s/he live until God says it's time.

Answer 4

I will say that with some conditions a dr will offer a termination of the pregnancy. I know this because with my first pregnancy a scan 18 weeks detected an abnormality. After seeing a specialist it was determined that my daughters condition was fatal. she would not recover nor would she survive till delivery. At that time I was given 2 options I could terminate or I could continue to carry until she passed ( about a month or 2). Neither were "encouraged" but I was told to make my own decision. I chose to continue to carry and she passed 4 1/2 weeks later.

Answer 5

here in canada you get a test done t a certain amount of week to check if your child has down syndrome they have to stick a needle in the amniotic sack and get a little amniotic fluid you have the choice to have this done or not but it must be offered by your doctor i am fairly certain they cannot tell from an ultra sound this procedure causes an small increase in the risk of miscarriage i choose not to bc why would i bother risking a miscarriage if it wasn;t going to make a difference anyways i think theres no point in getting it unless you are willing to terminate the child if they do have down syndrome i don't think they can encourage i think they may ask or tell you its an option

Answer 6

i dont think they incourage it but they will say all your options to you....