UK Minister warns of inbreeding in British Pakistanis

[Mags 112]

hey mags do you know how often to people actually choose to abort if there is an abnormality?

A lot. In my 8 years at our unit the majority of women chose not to continue with the pregnancy. There would be a few surprises now and again where they would keep the pregnancy, but it was rare. We'd often do the prenatal testing, send out the result and then a few days later we would receive a pot of the products of conception (as they were called) in for confirmation testing.

Oo I didn't know that. So if you get an amnio, it's usually at the point where you can't have a suction abortion anymore?

Yup, in most cases. The cut off date tends to hover around the 14 week mark, depending on the unit.

In the UK they were pretty strict; I'm not sure about USA standards so can't really say either way what their cut off dates are.

What are the risks with amnio? Any percentages?

1 in a hundred.

Edited February 12, 2008 by Mags

[Amby 490]

hey mags do you know how often to people actually choose to abort if there is an abnormality?

More importantly, why would anyone choose not to?

well that was kinda my question but I wanted to word it differently so to not be attacked by pro-lifers

You're so clever

I can't take the credit...you're the clever one for figuring it out!

[garya505 2]

hey mags do you know how often to people actually choose to abort if there is an abnormality?

More importantly, why would anyone choose not to?

well that was kinda my question but I wanted to word it differently so to not be attacked by pro-lifers

Yes, we're ready to attack on the slightest provocation.

hey mags do you know how often to people actually choose to abort if there is an abnormality?

A lot. In my 8 years at our unit the majority of women chose not to continue with the pregnancy. There would be a few surprises now and again where they would keep the pregnancy, but it was rare. We'd often do the prenatal testing, send out the result and then a few days later we would receive a pot of the products of conception (as they were called) in for confirmation testing.

Oo I didn't know that. So if you get an amnio, it's usually at the point where you can't have a suction abortion anymore?

Yup, in most cases. The cut off date tends to hover around the 14 week mark, depending on the unit.

In the UK they were pretty strict; I'm not sure about USA standards so can't really say either way what their cut off dates are.

What are the risks with amnio? Any percentages?

1 in a hundred.

What happens in the 1?

[Amby 490]

hey mags do you know how often to people actually choose to abort if there is an abnormality?

A lot. In my 8 years at our unit the majority of women chose not to continue with the pregnancy. There would be a few surprises now and again where they would keep the pregnancy, but it was rare. We'd often do the prenatal testing, send out the result and then a few days later we would receive a pot of the products of conception (as they were called) in for confirmation testing.

Oo I didn't know that. So if you get an amnio, it's usually at the point where you can't have a suction abortion anymore?

Yup, in most cases. The cut off date tends to hover around the 14 week mark, depending on the unit.

In the UK they were pretty strict; I'm not sure about USA standards so can't really say either way what their cut off dates are.

What are the risks with amnio? Any percentages?

1 in a hundred.

I think that in the US it differs on which state you are in. I think some won't do it as late as some will.

[Alex+R 0]

hey mags do you know how often to people actually choose to abort if there is an abnormality?

A lot. In my 8 years at our unit the majority of women chose not to continue with the pregnancy. There would be a few surprises now and again where they would keep the pregnancy, but it was rare. We'd often do the prenatal testing, send out the result and then a few days later we would receive a pot of the products of conception (as they were called) in for confirmation testing.

So sometimes did you do the confirmation testing and find that the fetus was fine all along? What's the point of the confirmation testing?

[Mags 112]

What happens in the 1?

Miscarriage.

In our unit we would actually weigh up the 1 in a 100 risk with the mother's age related risk and nuchal fold measurement. If the miscarriage risk was higher we would counsel them to not have the test done. The majority still went ahead, may I add.

If you are faced with a 1 in 2 risk of Down Syndrome then there aren't many women who would refuse the testing.

Edited February 12, 2008 by Mags

[Mags 112]

hey mags do you know how often to people actually choose to abort if there is an abnormality?

A lot. In my 8 years at our unit the majority of women chose not to continue with the pregnancy. There would be a few surprises now and again where they would keep the pregnancy, but it was rare. We'd often do the prenatal testing, send out the result and then a few days later we would receive a pot of the products of conception (as they were called) in for confirmation testing.

So sometimes did you do the confirmation testing and find that the fetus was fine all along? What's the point of the confirmation testing?

It's the law in the UK, the products of conception have to be tested afterwards. We never had a case where a healthy fetus was terminated. There was a case many years ago in Birmingham, UK, where this happened though. IIRC the scientist who mixed them up left the job and never came back, she couldn't forgive herself.

[Amby 490]

My brother was severely handicapped before he passed away. I'm all for testing.

[Mags 112]

My brother was severely handicapped before he passed away. I'm all for testing.

When you see some of the syndromes and diseases that can afflict you I can honestly say you wouldn't wish it on anybody.

[Mrs.J06 4]

You also increase you chances of birth defects with increasing age, and by marrying within your own race. So, you should marry someone of another race and have your kids when the mother is young. That's why I married an Asian woman 25 years younger than me!

Actually, it is mainly Down Syndrome that increases with age (aged eggs) the majority of other birth defects can happen at any age.

Interestingly enough, the other Trisomies (specifically Trisomy 13 and Trisomy 18) seem to occur in younger women rather than the over 36 age occurance for Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21). These are much "nastier" syndromes to have too and tend to be incompatible with life.

So how does the age of the father come into play with Down Syndrome and other birth defects?

[Alex+R 0]

So how does the age of the father come into play with Down Syndrome and other birth defects?

I'm not the expert but I read that the older the father is, the more likely for genetic mutation on his part, and that causes a lot of weird stuff. Like a genetic disorder my dad has... it never appeared in our family before, and my grandpa was about 48 when my dad was born.

[Ban Hammer 12,841]

hey mags do you know how often to people actually choose to abort if there is an abnormality?

grab the kindling and matches everyone and meet me at amber's house!

[Amby 490]

yet another reason for me to kick your azz charles!

[Mags 112]

You also increase you chances of birth defects with increasing age, and by marrying within your own race. So, you should marry someone of another race and have your kids when the mother is young. That's why I married an Asian woman 25 years younger than me!

Actually, it is mainly Down Syndrome that increases with age (aged eggs) the majority of other birth defects can happen at any age.

Interestingly enough, the other Trisomies (specifically Trisomy 13 and Trisomy 18) seem to occur in younger women rather than the over 36 age occurance for Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21). These are much "nastier" syndromes to have too and tend to be incompatible with life.

So how does the age of the father come into play with Down Syndrome and other birth defects?

As a rule Down Syndrome it tends to be aged eggs that cause the majority of cases. There are incidences of it happening with younger women but obviously this is no where near as common as in older women. However, there are a few studies going on where they are suggesting that the father does play more of a role than previously thought BUT this seems to only be in mothers over 35. Men over 40 had twice the rate of having a Down syndrome birth compared with men 24 years old and younger when they had children with women over 35.

Although it's increasing now, comparison wise, relatively few children are born to older fathers and genetic diseases are still rare amongst them but because of this low number of births it is hard to work out statistics.

There are a few hereditary diseases and some disorders like schizophrenia, which I have heard are associated with advanced paternal age. There are a couple of mutations in sperm which are responsible for Apert's syndrome and Achondroplasia (dwarfism) that increase with a man's age too.

Generally though this is because the older a man is the poorer quality his sperm will be and it is more likely to contain spermatozoa with mutations, which in turn can cause various syndromes in the fetus.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

This has turned out to be a great thread. Thanks, Mags