Got my weekly update from BabyCenter.com. I usually really like their reminders and weekly updates: "You are 9 weeks pregnant today... click here for an update on your (baby's) growth." (They don't use the word "baby" though---delusional. :) ) I didn't have a "part 2" for my "What to Expect" entry when i wrote that it was "part one" but my sister told me to call it "part one" as there was so much more to say. There *is* a lot to say, and i realize that this is maybe a re-do of the last entry, but it was my second nudge from the "medical community" in my 9 weeks of pregnancy to "beware" and a veiled suggestion that I may want to re-think this pregnancy. This is what you should expect if you are 35 and pregnant: An e-mail that begins with:
"Your pregnancy calendar
1 January, 2010:
Older women are more likely to have babies with chromosomal disorders such as Down's syndrome. That's why, if you're over 35, you may be offered an amniocentesis to check you baby's genes."
The message went on to insist that I ask for the booking soon so that I didn't miss out on these important tests before it is too late....too late to kill my child? Hmmm, from what I've read, they will terminate right up to the end for mothers who are desperate for the "service". What has motherhood come to when "To kill or not to kill..." has become the question.
"Dangerous Place"
--by Julie Miller--
Little ones to him belong,
Little ones, where have you gone?
Was it a war that stilled your voice?
No, it was your mother's choice.
Where was the doctor's healing hand
when children died across the land?
Was it in search of saving life?
No, death came from his knife.
It's a dangerous, dangerous, dangerous place,
Dangerous, dangerous place to be these days.
Now five months early you survive,
but 'til you're born, well, you're not alive,
Convenience has a sacrifice,
and children are the price.
It's a dangerous, dangerous, dangerous place,
A mother's womb is a dangerous place to be these days.
Little ones to him belong,
You are weak,
and we were wrong,
Now we will never hear your voice,
and it was our own choice.
Jesus loves me,
this I know
for the Bible tells me so,
Little ones to him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.
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4 comments:
Even when I was expecting Sarah, I was offered to be tested for Downs Syndrome therefore allowing me the option to end the pregnancy. It's terrible how lightly some people speak of it.
Little ones DO belong to Him!
It's an insult to motherhood for the medical community to assume that our children would matter so little to us. I know some would argue that they would want to know so they could be "prepared" but even that does not make sense. The test (amnio.) in itself can cause miscarriage and many other tests come out with false information. Some events in life are better taken "as they come" one precious moment at a time. Every life a blessing, every moment of motherhood, a gift.
Through each of my childrens pregnancy's(sp?) I was offered the amnio test. I refused it 4 times and each time my doctor just didn't understand why I wouldn't want to "know". Well Like you said Jess some events in life are better taken as they come. I was never tempted to take that test...God's peace prevails!
I, too, had the doctors full of doom and gloom - not so much with Alisdair (as a first time Mum at 37) but with Isobel at 43... two trips to Saskatoon to see a specialist and worry that she might have Down's Syndrome (though apparently the test chances were 1 in 81). Obviously there is nothing wrong with her at all and I shouldn't have spent any time worrying about her health -- though the doctors DID steal some of my joy as they brought up all the possibilities of potential trouble. The dr. was pretty grumpy when I went in at 45 too (he looked right at John and said "And how many children do YOU have?" - as if to say we were both totally crazy to even consider having a child at our ages. However, when John told him that he didn't have any biological children, the dr. immediately changed his attitude. Anyway, nature took its course on that one, but just the same, I didn't need the medical push to "go have a termination" just because I wasn't in my 20's or 30's.
I think Drs. need some re-training to deal with "older mothers!"
Saskatchewan Cousin
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