Y2K Bug Blamed For Miscalculated Down Syndrome Risk 273
Albanach writes: "The BBC are reporting in this story that the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield, England is blaming the Millennium Bug for getting wrong 150 tests for Down Syndrome with four mothers going on to give birth to affected children." The article actually idicates that four women were pregnant with Down Syndrome babies, and that two of them brought the pregnancies to term.
Re:Does it matter? (Score:1, Informative)
Um, buy a clue here (Score:3, Informative)
In other words, getting this test wrong put 150 women at greater risk for a test later in their pregnancy. Obviously the test was eventually done, that's how the four women who had fetuses with down syndrome were informed of it.
Another reason to get this test right is so that the amnicentesis can be done much earlier in the pregnancy, preferrably during the first trimester when an abortion is a viable option.
Whether you agree with abortion or not, it is the mother's choice, and I can respect the desire to limit suffering in the world, especially for your children.
GenericJoe
Re:This is not a bad thing. (Score:1, Informative)
I have 3 children under three - one of which has downs syndrome. They are 3 years, 18 months and 2 months. The 3 year old with downs syndrome is very well functioning and does not require much more time than the others. There is NO super-increased level of responsability and he functions just as well as his brother of 18 months - in fact we have to be extra carefull with his "normal" brother of 18 months because he's so wild.
Its unbeliavable what people without children or with "normal" children imagine. Yes, we feared enormous problems and where chocked when we found out but nothing was like we where told. Its really not a big deal to handle, at leat at the moment, and people dont need to fear having a child with downs syndrome.
Re:I am not pro-life or anything (Score:2, Informative)
Do you even know what it means to be retarded? Or has the term's over-use to mean "stupid" completely blinded you to what REAL retards are like?