Another example of hypervigilance gone wrong in modern society?
LONDON, September 17, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The invasive procedures used to detect Down syndrome in unborn children result in the miscarriages of two healthy children for every three Down babies detected, a British study has found.
The study's researchers, from the charity Down Syndrome Education International (DSEI), estimate that in the process of detecting and aborting 660 Down babies annually, screening leads to the deaths of 400 babies who do not have the disorder in England and Wales alone. Based upon their findings, the researchers are calling into question the ethical standing of the government's policy of offering screening to all pregnant women.
Friday, September 19, 2008
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9 comments:
are you thinking that people in general are more paranoid or that doctors go to far? i personally get annoyed at work with how many tests and stuff our docs order but the truth is, if they don't, the patients are the first to point the finger at the doctors when something goes wrong. liability is a major issue that doctors have to deal with today. (i'm speaking generally here, not really geared toward the article you posted)
regarding the article, i assume they are doing amnios that are causing the loss of healthy babies (i know i should read the article =) )... those would definitely be done under the consent of the parent...i'm not sure it would be a hypervigilance issue...only b/c they aren't doing it for the baby's health, right? i would assume the parent wants to know so they can choose whether or not to abort? another reason would be so that they can get counseling...but in that case it seems like the doctors aren't giving them proper info regarding risk of death...
also, i personally would choose not to do the blood work at all that checks for downs, etc, except for the fact that it also detects placental abnormalities, which can be easily treated. Maybe they should just offer those separately...I'm on the fence about this issue...i have a personal saying, "if we have the technology, we should use it" but within reason...i wouldn't do a CT scan every year just to be safe because the dye isn't safe. I also would have a hard time choosing having an anmio because of the miscarriage risk...doctors and patients need to have open communication about real stuff, like risks and benefits...unfortunatly, much of the conversation takes place between the staff and the patients... oh man, i'm really rambling here!! sorry!!
Well, I think both are true actually. Liability hurts patients as well as doctors, but good point.
Yes, the patient consents, but the point is that they aren't made fully aware of how dangerous the tests are. More babies are killed as a result of the testing than the number identified as having down syndrome. The test also has a high false positive. I called it hypervigilance because we-society-think we can manage every little aspect of our lives(not just pregnancy) with careful monitoring and drugs and technology. We vigilantly monitor every aspect of pregnancy, from check-ups to labor. The testing is killing healthy babies. And I know for my first pregnancy I wasn't given any choice about the initial testing(Not amnio, of course) I was ordered to have done. In my case it wasn't necesary, I would not abort, regardless. There are some people for whom the testing would be a good idea, but I think we unnecesarily make most people think they a necesity. And largly it just makes for extra stuff for an already stressed pregnant woman to worry about.
Stuff like that should be decided after a lengthy conversation and maybe some time to consider. But that doesn't really happen in today's medical climate, does it? Doctors are too rushed, too limmited in what they are able to do.
Thanks for your perspective-it's not a view I would get otherwise. I find it interesting.
something that had even changed since i had jonathan are "kick counts..." my friend rachel had to do them with her baby and we'll see if my doctor mentions them this time...basically they are just counting the kicks every day for a set amount of time to make sure there are a certain amount of kicks. if there aren't, you're supposed to call the doctor. imagine the stress that causes!!!!
My old neighbor, Lori, was pregnant with her first child 23 years ago. She was a very stressed woman to begin with and the pregnancy added to the stress. The pregnancy was going along OK in the beginning, until after six months. She asked the doctor about not feeling the baby move like it did in the beginning, his response to her not all babies are active in the womb. So, she was OK with that answer, because what did she know, it was all new to her. When she went in to labor everything was going quite well, until delivery. The baby was born with spinal bifida (spelling-sound it out). She had water on the brain and a hole in her lower spine. She was rushed to CHOPS in Phila, where she died about three weeks later.
Lori and her husband had to go for testing because the doctors told them that one of them carried the gene for this ailment, that is just doesn't happen. When she became pregnant about 2-3 years later she had to have tests periodically to make sure everything was going along smoothly.
She had the amnios testing done thru her next pregnancy and her next daughter Amy came out healthy and beautiful.
I guess I think sometimes it is best to have an amnios testing done. It is up to the parents if they could raise a child that is severely handicapped, after they heard the results.
Not all babies are active in the womb, that is true. I know a woman whose baby stopped moving and she was sure she was carrying a dead child. This was years ago before ultrasounds,etc. But he was born normal, he just didn't like to move around a lot.
I do believe that if a woman has a gut feeling that something is off the provider should listen. I'd guess that if she was a very nervous woman to begin with he probably just dismissed it as her being paranoid. That wouldn't happen today though as they listen for a heartbeat at every visit(an example of technology being used for good-noninvasive, doesn't hurt the baby, quick, brings the mother reassurance, and can help spot something amiss) plus ultrasounds, etc. As I said, for some women tests and more tests ARE a good idea. I think it just spreads a culture of fear to make us feel as though every aspect of our lives needs to be managed. Pregnancy is not just a chance for something horrific to happen.
Yeah, they had a chart for that in the folder the midwives gave me too, but I was never asked to complete it. I think that's for first pregnancies or for people who do worry about that sort of thing. I've been lucky on that front thoughd, all my bbaies have been very active, so I never had to worry about that.
Also, I have read and heard about many women talking about how paranoid the book What to Expect When you're Expecting made them. All that info about stuff that can go wrong.
oh and here is also something to think about...michele can back me up on this one...i've found that some doctors have a paranoid type personality and their patients are the ones with lots of testing while the layed back type do not order near as many tests on patients. sometimes i think it's easy to forget that physicians are humans with their own habits/emotions/etc. i think the most important thing patients can do is educate themselves and ask a lot of questions and make their own suggestions.
I agree, they are only human. That's why it is so important that you are able to find a good fit in your doctor/patient relationship. We need a system where you are able to change doctors if you need to, not just for medical reasons. I think that too many people see doctors as all-knowing gods. While we trust that they have studied and gave more knowledge it doesn't meant they are great at applying it, nor does it mean that they always know what is best for you specifically.
I don't mean to sound like a know-it-all here, I have thought about these things because I really wish we had a better health-care system!
ya i agree steph, we could do better but i really don't know what it would take to fix it! =)
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