Friday, October 5, 2012

31 for 21: DAY 5 :: Family Threads

I often get asked by others, "So, are you planning on having more children?"  I am not sure if some people are just asking out of plain curiosity about our family plans, or if they're asking because they wonder about our chances of having another child with Down syndrome.  This doesn't offend me, because I get where they are coming from, but I would like to take a minute to educate others on this topic.  (And yes, we would LOVE to expand our family one day when the timing is right! :)

Down Syndrome Fact of the Day #5:

In general, Down syndrome is not hereditary.

Most cases of Down syndrome are of the nondisjunction type (like Jack's case) and are sporadic, chance events.  Only in translocation Down syndrome is it possible for the condition to be hereditary.  Therefore, generally speaking Down syndrome does not run families, and a sibling or an aunt of a child with Ds has no greater chance of conceiving a child with Down syndrome than any other average woman.  This also means that I myself am unlikely to have another child with Down syndrome.  My chances are certainly greater than a different mom (about 1 in 100), simply due to the fact that I already have a child with Down syndrome.  There is little documentation available regarding more than one child with nondisjunction Ds being conceived within the same birth family.

So, now that you know that Down syndrome does not necessarily run in families, I will go on to tell you what DOES run in families.  And that, my friends, is .... 

ADORABLENESS!!!

Cousin bathtime

Oldie but goodie from last summer ... still adorable even though everyone's not smiling!

Proud Ci Ci on the beach last summer with "her seven"

Fun at the Zoo with my cousin Zack!

Jack LOVES his littlest cousin Brooklyn!



1 comment:

  1. Not sure if this makes you feel any better but I get asked that all the time too. I think it is one of those "natural progression" questions that people think is their business. Much like, "when are you getting married?" or "when you are having kids?" People are just nosy :)

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