Rise in Down's Syndrome pregnancies

A recent study has found a considerable increase – 71% in 20 years – in the number of pregnancies where the child was diagnosed with Down's syndrome.

This has been explained by a rise in the number of older women having children. There is a much higher risk of a baby having Down’s if the mother is 40 (one in 85) than if she is 30 (one in 940).

In spite of this, the number of babies born with the disorder has remained relatively stable. This is because of an improvement in antenatal screening and a higher percentage of parents choosing to abort if the risk of Down’s syndrome is high.

The leader of the study, Joan Morris, from Queen Mary, University of London, explained that it was thought that better screening processes would result in a fall in the number of children born with Down’s syndrome, but said "due to increases in maternal age, this has not happened.”

The research goes on to show that without the advancements in screening, there would have been an estimated rise of 48% in the number of babies born with Down’s.

Down’s syndrome is a genetic disorder that can affect a person’s learning and developmental ability; there may also be some physical impairment such as hearing difficulties. There are currently around 60,000 people with Down’s syndrome in the UK.

What do you think of this story? Would you consider having screenings for disorders such as Down's? Do you have any experience with children with Down's syndrome? Discuss here.