What if my baby has Downs Syndrome?

Question

I am 13 weeks pregnant and when we went for our first scan last week the doctor asked if we would like tests done for Downs syndrome.( Just procedure) Ever since then I have had dreams about my baby having it. I would never reject my child if he/she has it and believe that God would give me what He thinks I am capable of handling. Everyone wants a healthy baby..and its normal to feel worried..but this is really causing me sleepless nights...I love my baby irrespective I know. I also know there is nothing I can do if he/she is born with it.. Has anyone else had any of these fears?

Answer 1

serious question. Only life will tell you what to feel and if youtrust god with your life then god will provide a way a method a coping system for you if this should happen .
Statistically it's very very very rare. But if it does happen you will love the child, you will become an expert in the condition & you will find inner strength to fight the world for the 2 of you

i wish you love
i wish you luck

Answer 2

I was 35 and pregnant, the doctor suggested tests to check for Downs Syndrome, procedure and my age...they do that by shoving a needle in your belly and taking some fluid and tell you this could cause a mis-carriage. After I picked myself up off the floor, I said, "NO!!", We tried so many times to get here, two miscarriages then each week was a worry that we wouldn't get to the next week. Your dreams are natural, if someone suggested your child may be part animal, you'd be dreaming about that too!! Its your hormones....try some warm milk at night, since you are pregnant that is all you can possibly have!! I too was worried when that time in the pregnancy came up, what cured me is the question, "Would it really matter?" Yes it would be harder and yes god only gives you what you can handle, but No, it wouldn't matter, I would love this child anyway....even if he has donkey ears!! We did not get the tests, we let God decide...You may dream through the whole pregnancy, you just have to think worry is all part of it, when you wake up and have that 6:30am morning sickness you'll say "Whew..I am awake now!!" Good luck with you pregnancy, mother hood is amazing, the day your looking at that new little incredible face..you will ask yourself, "What was I worried about again??", then you will take a long deserved nap!! Best of Wishes! ~ >^^<

Answer 3

Mercia - It is only natural for you to have these fears. Every
mother wants a healthy baby.

My story is different to everyone elses on here. I had the
amnio test. It showed my baby had Downs. I had a termination. What I do want to say is, that until you are
in that situation, you do not know how you would deal with
it. I think I went through with the termination while I was
in a state of shock. I was 21 weeks and had to give birth.
My daughter would be 16 now and she will always hold a
place in my heart. I have never known whether I made
the right decision. I don't know if I would have coped. I
was told by doctors and midwifes that that was the right
decision. Who knows? When I hear of people that go on
to have these babies I feel admiration for them and shame
on myself.

I wish you a happy, healthy pregnancy. Let your midwife
know how you are feeling. Because when you are upset
or worried and losing sleep, it will do no good for your
baby. Take Care. Minxy.x.

Answer 4

My daughter-in-law and son are going through this exact thing right now. She is over 35 (but not by much), and her initial bloodwork did show some markers that suggested she should have the CVS test done and not wait for the amnio. She did that and the test made her sick. The results are in and while pictures of the baby do not show any of the physical characteristics of Downs, the results were that the baby is a girl and that she is positive for Down's Syndrome. We are now sorry she went for the test. We love her already (I've named her baby Faith even though it's just my name for her!) and, like you, we feel that the Lord knows better than us what we can handle. Initially, we looked at all the medical information about Down's and the tests, etc. It was horrible to read that stuff! Then we looked up the Syndrome and saw how encouraging the information was. Praise the Lord, we are optimistic about this little girl and looking forward to her arrival, regardless of whether the tests were correct. Not so incidentally, we have heard of almost a dozen people, who we know directly, who received the same positive tests and NOT ONE had a child with anything wrong whatsoever! Additionally, all of them were girls!!! I also uncovered information that when autopsies are performed on aborted fetuses who had positive tests for problems 39% of the fetuses, DID NOT have anything wrong so they were FALSE POSITIVES! I will keep you in my prayers along with our Roseanne and my son. I could go on and on here, but want to get this off to you! In any event, if given the choice to test or not now -- we would have chosen not to.

Answer 5

I know friends that have had Downs babies and if they had knew previously they would have been a little more prepared but would not have felt any differently about the child. Unless you have a good reason to suspect Downs Syndrome you should probably not get checked out as the tests can be dangerous and are not 100%. You do not sound like it would alter your love for your child - just prepare yourself with some facts around the extra care your child may need if it has the condition and pray that he / she is healthy. If you are being unduly stressed over a small chance then speak to your doctor as this is not good for you or your baby.

Good Luck

Answer 6

I'm 9 weeks and already having fears like that...I have just been reading all sorts of pregnancy/birth defects statistics in an attempt to ease my mind. The good news is that it is really rare, and there are varying degrees of Down's Syndrome so even on the off chance that your baby would be born with it, he or she could still have a pretty normal life, and their home life is a major factor in their level of disability. No matter what you are going to love that baby to bits!! You just have to remain positive in your thinking (so do I!!). Have the test done if it will ease your mind. Until then, don't worry about what you can't really control. Everything will be ok!!

Answer 7

I have 3 wonderful healthly kids and I thank God for them everyday. With all of the problems I have had keeping them while pregnant that is truly remarkable to me and having mulitple miscarriages they are a blessing.

I always have those fears while being pregnant. I think almost every women does no matter how many children she has. And the fears don't stop once the baby is born, you will always and forever worry about your child. Welcome to motherhood.

Just realize how much you love your child and the sleepless nites should go away. But you will probably still have worries.
I know easier said then done huh.

They do this type of testing with every pregnancy.

Good luck and congrats

Answer 8

It's not unusual to have these fears while you are pregnant. They can do so many tests these days that it's scary, like test for what sex they are, if they will have any abnormalities, assuming that if you aren't getting what you wanted then you can abort it right away and have another go at it. I'm glad you are willing to accept a baby with special needs like Down's Syndrome. I work with adults with developmental disabilities and they are the most wonderful people. There are lots of supports out there for families who find out they have a special needs baby. Most states have Early intervention programs where they get you hooked up with all kinds of assessments, therapies, assistance right away. No it's not easy, and it can be painful, sad, and challenging, but you still love your child and they love you back. They're just different.

Answer 9

Everyone has fears of whether or not their baby will be born completely healthy; it's natural. And if that is the case your baby, it is better to know know if these tests will let you know, b/c I didn't know you could find out about Down Syndrome when the baby was still in the womb. However, if you know early, you can find out about the disorder, and how to care for an infant who has it.

I'm sure you baby will be fine though, and again, a lot of expecting mommies get paranoid about things like this. Good Luck. : )

Answer 10

I think everyone has a concern, and hope, that above all things their child will be born healthy. The type of living you have done up to this point certainly plays into some portion of this outcome (which I am certain you have taken care of yourself properly) ... but beyond that, it is in God's hands .... nothing you can do about it, and worrying really only makes things worse ... Odds are in your favor that all will be OK with your child, so do not worry, chances are all will be good ... but, if for some reason they are not, nothing you can do now, and God will give you what you need to carry on.

Answer 11

I had dreams all the time that my daughter would be born with Down Syndrome. We even had to have a level 2 ultrasound after there was a "marker" for DS found during the initial ultrasound. All that worrying for nothing. She is now a perfectly normal almost 2-year old. I had all the recommended tests during my pregnancy because if I was going to have a child with a disability I wanted to prepare myself ahead of time. The quad screen results were also very reassuring in the days before my level 2 ultrasound because it placed the odds of having a child with DS very low.