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Article: As science advances, so does genetic counseling.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- March 2, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ In Chasity Helms' first pregnancy, an ultrasound detected a thick skin fold on her unborn daughter's neck. It was a bad sign _ a marker for Down syndrome, a mentally retarding birth defect.
But Down syndrome is associated with the babies of middle-aged moms. Chasity was 17.
"The doctor that I had told me that it went away; that if anything was wrong, she (the fetus) would have died," Helms said.
But the child, a girl named Haley, was born with Down syndrome. And Helms was not emotionally prepared when the doctor held up an infant with a misshapen, bruised head and sunken eyes.
"I cried. I just did nothing but cried," ...