Patient's question:
Medical Description: Undergoing Down syndrome screening, 1:148, blood test conducted, now asked to undergo amniocentesis at Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital. I'm very worried. I really want this child. I've placed too much hope in him.Second child (first born delivered smoothly) past treatment history and effectiveness: Currently waiting, no treatment has been started.
Help needed: Do I need to go to the Maternal and Child Health Hospital for confirmation? I've heard the results from amniocentesis take a long time to come back. I'm afraid I won't be able to endure it. Will the results improve? Does the Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital perform amniocentesis every day?
Doctor's answer:
The probability of having Down syndrome is not directly related to ethnicity or living standards. It is estimated that one in 660 newborns suffers from Down syndrome, making it the most common chromosomal variation. Older first-time mothers increase the risk of their infants having Down syndrome. Between the ages of 20 and 24, the incidence rate is 1/1250, at age 35 it is 1/400, at age 40 it is 1/106, at age 45 it is 1/30, and at age 49 it is 1/11. The reason is that as the age of the mother increases, the process of egg formation leads to an increased incidence of chromosomal non-disjunction. However, on the other hand, approximately 80% of Down syndrome-affected infants are born to mothers under the age of 35. This is related to the higher proportion of pregnancies in women under the age of 35.