From the [UK] Guardian/Observer:

New research reports that risks in diagnosing Down syndrome prenatally are higher than previously believed, with two “healthy” babies being miscarried for every “three unborn Down’s syndrome babies prevented from being born.”

The reason, researchers say, is that methods used to detect Down syndrome are inexact and also carry a risk of miscarriage. The paper is being published in the Down Syndrome Research and Practice Journal.

The authors are from the charity Down’s Syndrome Education International and might therefore be accused of pursuing their own agenda, but the research has been shown to a number of screening experts who have assessed the findings. In a film to be screened on Channel 4 News … Professor Kypros Nicolaides, head of the Harris Birthright Centre at King’s College Hospital in south London, will say it is ‘completely unacceptable’ to lose this number of normal babies.

The paper’s authors, Frank Buckley and Professor Sue Buckley, blame false screening results in initial blood testing coupled with subsequent invasive testing. Some 95 percent of women defined by their initial blood test as “high risk’ will not be carrying a baby with the condition. Yet most of these women go on to have an amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling test, both of which have a risk of miscarriage.

The Buckleys say their research has implications for every pregnant woman.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 13th, 2008 at 7:22 pm and is filed under abortion, Down syndrome, NOT2BEMISSED, prenatal diagnosis, selective termination. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.