is age 35. All pregnancies carry a risk for chromosome abnormalities, but the American College of Gynecology only recommends routine diagnostic testing for women at or above 35. As ultrasound technology makes procedures safer – and women wait longer to have children – the recommended age is destined to come down. For Monique Lingenfelter, weighing
risks versus benefits of testing meant a lot of sleepless nights. She had her first child at 22, and her second at 38. Two weeks after her daughter arrived happy, healthy and ahead of schedule, Lingenfelter suffered a heart attack. It happened on her intended due date. Lingenfelter would later find out that her maternal grandmother had had her first attack at age 38, too. Now she is pregnant for a third time,
at age 41. She knew she would face high risks and tough decisions. Fetal movements were different, screening results were pending, and the term “advanced maternal age” was making her cringe. “Knowing is definitely better than
not knowing,” she said. “Every night I had the most off-the-wall dreams related to the answers, what-if dreams thinking about all the options, talking in my sleep about them.” But when the results of her
biochemical screening came back, her age-based risk for chromosome abnormalities of 1:70 was adjusted to a probability of 1:2,250. And those are odds she’s happy to take. As for Sarah and Russell Walter, they
are preparing for his upcoming nine- month deployment to Afghanistan. While Russell is away, Sarah has decided to undergo in-vitro fertilization with preimplantaion genetic diagnosis. If all goes well, Russell will be home just in time for the birth.CV
Want to find out how Sarah is doing? Follow her journey at www.spousebuzz.com, where she is a regular contributor.
? 56|August/September • 2009
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