Counseling - Down's syndrome.
Hello Mrs. Smith I am Dr. Munagapati, senior house officer in the department of Paediatrics. Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful boy. I would like to have a little chat to you about him. You might have noted that he looks slightly different to other babies. I have examined him thoroughly and I am sorry to have to tell you that I suspect he has a condition called Down's syndrome. Have you heard about this at all?
Well Down's syndrome is a chromosomal disorder. Now, children with Down's syndrome can have a variety of features. The most obvious ones are the upward slanting eyes. They have a large tongue and can be rather floppy. This might lead to feeding problems in the early life. Occasionally these children can have heart defects and malformations in their guts. This does not seem to be the case with your son, as I have listened to his heart and examined his tummy. However we will arrange a heart scan to make doubly sure. I don't want to paint a very gloomy picture. Children with Down's syndrome are very pleasant and lovable. They enjoy music very much.
At the moment my diagnosis is relying entirely on the clinical features. That why it is important to do a blood test to look at the chromosomes to confirm this.
It must be a lot for you to take in, in one session. I will give some written information to read through and if you have any questions later on we will be happy to help.
Thank you, Mrs. Smith.