BOSTON, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Many U.S. families, who have children born with Down syndrome, said their doctor made insensitive comments following the birth, a survey found.
Despite the widespread use of prenatal testing, the majority of families -- approximately 5,000 parents each year -- who have children with Down syndrome do not learn of their child's diagnosis until after they are born.
Mothers said they were frequently advised to put up their child for adoption, or chided for not having prenatal testing, according to study author Brian Skotko, a student at Harvard Medical School.
"The doctor flat out told my husband that this could have been prevented or discontinued at an earlier stage of the pregnancy," one mother said.
The findings, published in Pediatrics, report mothers reported that the majority of physicians were uninformed about the positive potential for children with Down syndrome, and rarely provided an adequate, up-to-date description of the children, printed information, or telephone numbers of other parents.
