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Just as the number of older moms has grown in recent years, so has the medical technology that lets you know in advance if there may be a problem with your baby. Providers can now test the genetic makeup of adults before they start a family, or check a baby for some problems before she's even born. In a few minutes, were going to discuss some of the tests available. But first, let's have a "crash course" in how your body passes it's genetic information onto your baby.
Doctors:
Every cell in your body contains DNA, which is a blueprint or "genetic code" that tells your cells what to do and how to grow. Each cell in your body contains the entire code. It's hard to imagine, but in each and every cell there are 5 - 6 million different genes. This is a huge amount of information that is condensed into more easily managed units called chromosomes. Each of us has 46 chromosomes that pass the genetic code from cell to cell as our bodies grow.
Just as chromosomes pass genetic material when your body makes new cells, they also pass the genetic code from you to your child. When you ovulate each month, your egg has 23 of the chromosomes needed to make a person. When you become pregnant, the other 23 chromosomes come from the father's sperm. With a total of 46 chromosomes, your baby now has the information he needs to grow.
This information, or genetic code, will decide things like how tall, what color of hair, and what color of eyes your baby will have. Whether your baby is a boy or a girl is also decided by the genetic code that came from you and your baby's father. Unfortunately, some conditions or diseases can also be passed on through your genes.
What you may already know is that each of us women is born with a lifetime supply of eggs, which age right along with the rest of our body. As we get older, our chances of getting pregnant decrease and our chances for chromosomal abnormalities, though still rare, do increase.
How old you are when you get pregnant can have a big influence on whether or not you choose to have genetic screening. If you are 35 when you deliver, your risk of having a baby with some kind of genetic abnormality is only essentially 1 in 200. The abnormality we hear the most about is Down Syndrome and your specific risk for having a baby with this problem is about 1 in 400. These risks increase substantially beyond the age of 35 and can result in birth defects that are serious and require special medical care.
The good news is that statistically, you have about a 99% chance of having a totally normal and healthy baby, and that medical advances and breakthroughs are happening all the time. Finding out about any potential problems in advance can help you and your partner prepare emotionally, to make informed medical decisions, and to find out about programs for children with special needs.
If you will be 35 or older when you have your baby, your provider should fill you in on options for tests to diagnose Down Syndrome, Trisomy 18, or other chromosomal abnormalities. Those options may include amniocentesis, triple screen, ultrasound, and CVS - chorionic villus sampling. Each of these tests can be used to check your baby for potential genetic problems. Although not all abnormalities can be detected in advance, many of them do show up.
The good news is that the results of these tests will usually reassure you that your baby has none of these abnormalities.