Young people with Down’s syndrome respond to the anguish of a future mother

“What life will my child have? To reassure a pregnant woman with a baby with Down’s syndrome, an Italian association has produced a video full of hope. Posted on YouTube on March 13, she presents 15 people with Down’s syndrome who talk about the normal life of a sick child.

At the origin of this video, the letter from a future mother who has just learned of her unborn child with Down’s syndrome. She exposes her fears there, in particular concerning the life of her child. The Down Syndrome Patient Support Association, CoorDown (Coordinamento Nazionale Associazioni delle persone con sindrome di Down), replied by interposed video. Young people with Down’s syndrome talk about their everyday life: school, work, travel, family time … but also the difficulties, due to illness or the simple fact of having a child. “They all have the right to be happy,” concludes the association.

Watch the video from CoorDown:

This video was produced on the occasion of World Down Syndrome Day, which will be held on March 21, at the initiative of around ten associations in Europe. Several television channels, including TF1, Canal + and M6, have undertaken to broadcast the video during the day.

Prenatal screening

Down’s syndrome is a birth defect, manifested by the presence of a third chromosome on the 21^e pair. It is the leading cause of mental deficit of genetic origin in France. Prenatal screening is systematically offered to pregnant women between the 11th^e and the 14^e week of amenorrhea. This screening takes several parameters into account: ultrasound analysis of the nuchal translucency (a liquid pocket temporarily present in the fetal neck), serum markers and maternal age. When the risk is high, doctors suggest that the pregnant woman make a diagnosis, either by biopsy or by amniocentesis. If it is positive, women can choose to keep the child or medically terminate the pregnancy (IMG). In the case of trisomy 21, an IMG is possible at any time as soon as the diagnosis is made. In 2010, 95% of pregnant women decided to terminate their pregnancy after discovering the illness of their child.