Screening For Down S Syndrome

Nominated for the Foundation of Sociology of Health and Illness Book Prize 2018 In the UK and beyond, Down’s syndrome screening has become a universal programme in prenatal care. But why does screening persist, particularly in light of research that highlights pregnant women’s ambivalent and problematic experiences with it? Drawing on an ethnography of Down’s syndrome screening in two UK clinics, Thomas explores how and why we are so invested in this practice and what effects this has on those involved. Informed by theoretical approaches that privilege the mundane and micro practices, discourses, materials, and rituals of everyday life, Down’s Syndrome Screening and Reproductive Politics describes the banal world of the clinic and, in particular, the professionals contained within it who are responsible for delivering this programme. In so doing, it illustrates how Down’s syndrome screening is ‘downgraded’ and subsequently stabilised as a ‘routine’ part of a pregnancy. Further, the book captures how this routinisation is deepened by a systematic, but subtle, framing of Down’s syndrome as a negative pregnancy outcome. By unpacking the complex relationships between professionals, parents, technology, policy, and clinical practice, Thomas identifies how and why screening is successfully routinised and how it is embroiled in both new and familiar debates surrounding pregnancy, ethics, choice, diagnosis, care, disability, and parenthood. The book will appeal to academics, students, and professionals interested in medical sociology, medical anthropology, science and technology studies (STS), bioethics, genetics, and/or disability studies.

This important new publication summarises the recent exciting advances in screening for Down's syndrome. It addresses important clinical questions such as: risk assessment, who to screen, when to screen, which techniques to use, and the organisation of screening programmes nationally and internationally. An international and authoritative team of authors has been invited to assess the latest developments in this rapidly advancing area. The volume provides a critical and much needed evaluation of the potential and limitations of new and established techniques for screening for Down's syndrome. It will serve as an essential source of information for all those involved in pre-natal diagnosis and the provision of obstetric care.

Down syndrome (DS) is the most common example of neurogenetic aneuploid disorder leading to mental retardation. In most cases, DS results from an extra copy of chromosome 21 (HSA21) producing deregulated gene expression in brain that gives raise to subnormal intellectual functioning. The topic of this volume is of broad interest for the neuroscience community, because it tackles the concept of neurogenomics, that is, how the genome as a whole contributes to a neurodevelopmental cognitive disorders, such as DS, and thus to the development, structure and function of the nervous system. This volume of Progress in Brain Research discusses comparative genomics, gene expression atlases of the brain, network genetics, engineered mouse models and applications to human and mouse behavioral and cognitive phenotypes. It brings together scientists of diverse backgrounds, by facilitating the integration of research directed at different levels of biological organization, and by highlighting translational research and the application of the existing scientific knowledge to develop improved DS treatments and cures. Leading authors review the state-of-the-art in their field of investigation and provide their views and perspectives for future research Chapters are extensively referenced to provide readers with a comprehensive list of resources on the topics covered All chapters include comprehensive background information and are written in a clear form that is also accessible to the non-specialist

An argument that more people should have children with Down syndrome, written from a pro-choice, disability-positive perspective. The rate at which parents choose to terminate a pregnancy when prenatal tests indicate that the fetus has Down syndrome is between 60 and 90 percent. In Choosing Down Syndrome, Chris Kaposy offers a carefully reasoned ethical argument in favor of choosing to have such a child. Arguing from a pro-choice, disability-positive perspective, Kaposy makes the case that there is a common social bias against cognitive disability that influences decisions about prenatal testing and terminating pregnancies, and that more people should resist this bias by having children with Down syndrome. Drawing on accounts by parents of children with Down syndrome, and arguing for their objectivity, Kaposy finds that these parents see themselves and their families as having benefitted from having a child with Down syndrome. To counter those who might characterize these accounts as based on self-deception or expressing adaptive preference, Kaposy cites supporting evidence, including divorce rates and observational studies showing that families including children with Down syndrome typically function well. Himself the father of a child with Down syndrome, Kaposy argues that cognitive disability associated with Down syndrome does not lead to diminished well-being. He argues further that parental expectations are influenced by neoliberal ideologies that unduly focus on the supposed diminished economic potential of a person with Down syndrome. Kaposy does not advocate restricting access to abortion or prenatal testing for Down syndrome, and he does not argue that it is ethically mandatory in all cases to give birth to a child with Down syndrome. People should be free to make important decisions based on their values. Kaposy's argument shows that it may be consistent with their values to welcome a child with Down syndrome into the family.

Rich with the voices and stories of participants, these touching, firsthand accounts examine how women of diverse racial, ethnic, class and religious backgrounds perceive prenatal testing, the most prevalent and routinized of the new reproducing technologies. Based on the author's decade of research and her own personal experiences with amniocentesis, Testing Women, Testing the Fetus explores the "geneticization" of family life in all its complexity and diversity.

This book provides a concise yet comprehensive source of current information on Down syndrome. Research workers, scientists, medical graduates and paediatricians will find it an excellent source for reference and review. This book focuses on exciting areas of research on prenatal diagnosis - Down syndrome screening after assisted reproduction techniques, noninvasive techniques, genetic counselling and ethical issues. Whilst aimed primarily at research worker on Down syndrome, we hope that the appeal of this book will extend beyond the narrow confines of academic interest and be of interest to a wider audience, especially parents and relatives of Down syndrome patients.