Prenatal Testing Argumentative Essay

Would you want to know the health of your child before it is born? That is what Prenatal Testing is for. If you don’t know what it is exactly, you’ll learn as you read through this paper. The two types of prenatal testing are prenatal screening and prenatal diagnosis. Both types of testing allow for pregnant women to have a clearer understanding of their child. (Prenatal Diagnosis 2015) New ways of learning about the fetus will most likely become available in the near future because of technology advancing everyday. Even though some people believe miscarriages are a problem with some of the testing that’s done, it’s okay for pregnant women to do prenatal testing to make sure their baby is healthy because there could be possible disorders in the baby, results from the testing can help, and the tests can find cancer in pregnant women.

Testing allows the mother to find out about possible disorders in the baby. Pregnant women can check if their baby has any type of birth defects. According to Nell Greenfieldboyce in her article called “DNA Blood

Test Gives Women A New Option For Prenatal Screening”, “cell free fetal DNA testing, uses a simple blood sample from an expectant mother to analyze bits of fetal DNA that have leaked into her bloodstream.” (Greenfieldboyce 2015) This means that there is a non-invasive way of testing for defects without the worry of having to deal with any type of pain. Pregnant women also believe they will hurt their baby with testing, so this non-invasive testing is one way to not harm the baby at all.

Another reason prenatal testing is recommended is because the baby could have Down’s Syndrome and the mom wouldn’t know until the baby is born. In the New York Times, Jane E. Brody’s article on “Breakthroughs in Prenatal Screening” she said “More than 30 years ago, a 37-year-old friend of mine with an unplanned fourth pregnancy was told by her obstetrician that an amniocentesis was “too dangerous” and could cause a miscarriage. She ultimately bore a child severely affected by Down syndrome, which could have been detected with the test.”(Brody 2013) If the woman took the test she would have known about her child having Down’s Syndrome. The woman didn’t think of trying any other test but instead chose to not have any at all which resulted in her not knowing until the child was born.

There is another kind of test that can help find out any defects in the child. Doing a chorionic villus sampling (or CVS) would check the placenta for any common birth defect like Down’s Syndrome. According to WebMD “Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) is a prenatal test that is used to detect birth defects, genetic diseases, and other problems during pregnancy. During the test, a small sample of cells (called chorionic villi) is taken from the placenta where it attaches to the wall of the uterus.” (WebMD 2015) This is another method to finding out if the child has any birth defects/disorders. It is said to be uncomfortable but not painful and better testing than an amniocentesis.

Both an amniocentesis and a CVS have risks since they’re considered to be invasive testing. One high risk that is most talked about is having a miscarriage. For an amniocentesis, the risk of having a miscarriage is less than 1 percent according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. (John Hopkins Medicine 2015) Mayo Clinic assures that there is only .7 percent risk of having a miscarriage from a CVS. (Mayo Clinic Staff 2015) Although there’s a risk, it’s an extremely small one so it’s rare for it to happen.

Results from testing can help with anything the pregnant woman needs or wants to know. Results also help make the best healthcare decisions before and after the baby is born. An article called "Prenatal Testing: Ultrasounds, Blood Tests, and Your Baby" on WebMD supports this when they said “When you’re pregnant, prenatal tests give you information about your health and your baby’s. They help detect any problems that could affect him, like birth defects or genetic diseases. The results can help you make the best health care decisions before and after your child is born.” (Prenatal Testing: Ultrasounds, Blood Tests, and Your Baby 2015) This means testing helps find any defects or diseases and also helps with any precautions the mother may have to take.

Testing also lets the woman know if she has gestational diabetes which is common in pregnant women. Babycenter’s article on “Gestational Diabetes” says “This is a type of diabetes that some women get during pregnancy. Between 2 and 10 percent of expectant mothers develop this condition, making it one of the most common health problems of pregnancy.” (Gestational Diabetes 2015) Testing can detect if the mother has diabetes and she can take the precautions needed to make sure her baby isn’t affected. The woman knowing about this is better than walking around having it possibly affect her child. According to the article, women don’t stay diabetics after the baby is born. After having gestational diabetes, there’s a higher risk of getting it again in a future pregnancy or later on in life.

If it’s found that the baby has Down’s Syndrome before it’s born, there’s an option of having an abortion.

Darshak Sanghavi’s article on "A Womb Without a View" says “A second benefit of prenatal screening is that it gives families a chance to decide whether they wish to continue a pregnancy at all. A huge number of women now choose abortion when faced with major birth defects.” (A Womb Without a View 2015) Sanghavi was basically saying that families can decide whether to let the baby be born and take care of it or if they feel they’re not ready for it, they can decide to abort the fetus. Many people disagree with that decision but it doesn’t matter because if the woman isn’t ready, it’s her decision. As Figure 1 shows, there’s a higher risk for birth defects in the fetus as a woman gets older. Women in their mid-20s aren’t very likely to have a child with defects but a woman in their 40s and up are at a higher risk of

it.

Tests can find cancer in pregnant women. The same testing that detects chromosomal abnormalities in the baby can also detect cancer in the woman. James McIntosh from Medical News Today supports my argument by what he says in his article; "Maternal Cancer Could Be Detected During Prenatal Testing." McIntosh says “A new study has revealed that genetic testing designed to detect chromosomal abnormalities in fetuses could also detect underlying conditions such as cancer in pregnant women.” (McIntosh 2015) The results in the testing for the babies helps the woman find out whether or not she has cancer. Cancer is not frequently detected in women during pregnancy but it can still happen.

If testing isn’t done, the mother may walk around with cancer without knowing it. According to Virginia Hughes in her article called "Pregnant Women Are Finding Out They Have Cancer From A Genetic Test Of Their Babies" on BuzzFeed, there were over two dozen women that found out they had cancer. In her own words she said, “Sequenom Laboratories revealed today that its prenatal genetic tests have uncovered cancer in at least 26 pregnant women.” (Hughes 2015) Women didn’t know they had cancer until they received results from testing. In 2013, there was also a 37 year old that did testing and results revealed that she had vaginal cancer.

Cancer that’s detected during pregnancy is most often in the breast, cervix, colon, and ovaries. Cancer.net backed up my supporting detail in their article, “Cancer During Pregnancy,” when they said “The cancers that tend to occur during pregnancy are those that are more common in younger people, such as cervical cancer, breast cancer, etc.” (Cancer During Pregnancy 2011) Tests help find out whether the woman has any of these types of cancer before it’s too developed. Although cancer in pregnancies are rare, it could still happen. Some cancer treatments are safe for the pregnancy and others are harmful to the fetus. If the women found out by doing testing, they could talk to their doctor about risks and benefits of different tests while having cancer.

Abortions are a problem when the mother finds out the baby has a disorder. Some women hear about how they would have to take care of a child with birth defects and worry. Down-syndrome.org explains it well in their article, "Issues for Families with Children with Down Syndrome." They say, “If 65-70% of families are doing fine, there are 30-35% of families who are showing signs of considerable stress or distress, for a variety of reasons. In these families, brothers, sisters and the child with Down syndrome are more likely to show behaviour difficulties. Parents are more likely to be struggling to cope and experiencing depression or health problems.” (Down Syndrome International 2015) What they said shows that although most families are fine, there’s still a part that aren’t and it affects them emotionally and mentally.

Women find out about their baby having a birth defect and abort it. In Cincinnati Children’s article, "Emotional and Family Issues Related to Children with Congenital Heart Disease" they talked about how the family is affected by it. They spoke about “A child's emotions can be affected by the way his / her family members cope with the illness, as well as other issues including the stress felt by the family.” (Cincinnati Children’s 2015) It basically explains that the family constantly worries about the child’s health and take extra precautions causing stress. Some children can handle it but other children struggle with it and get nervous or anxious. The parents also notice their child doesn’t understand why they’re different and it takes a toll on them.

Lastly, some people believe it’s best to “get rid” of the baby to prevent them from suffering in life. "Should Pregnant Women Who Know About Birth Defects Be Allowed to Abort?" by Samantha Cowan on TakePart talked about a study that proved women abort their babies after knowing about any defect. The article said, “Exact numbers about this decision are definitively tough to come by—it’s not a subject that even pollsters are comfortable with. But researchers have found that a consistent majority of women—up to 90 percent—with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome choose to terminate the pregnancy, according to a 2012 study.” (Cowan 2015) To summarize what the article said, women that find out about birth defects in their child were most likely to abort it according to a 2012 study. The parents that abort them do it because of the risks and costs being too high.

Anyone that has read this may think, “Why is this so important?” Prenatal testing is another way of watching the development of the child. Many pregnant women want to know how their baby is doing and if they’re developing on time without any complications. Without knowing how the baby is doing, the woman may find out about any defects or disorders in the child. Although there are risks of miscarriage with some tests, there’s a small percentage that makes it rare to happen. Technology is growing everyday and new things are created. With technology advancing everyday there could be non-invasive treatments created in the near future.