Introduction
Advances in medical technology mean that pregnant women can choose to have tests during pregnancy to predict whether the fetus has characteristics that suggest abnormalities. Although birth defects are rare, the most common of those that do occur are the chromosome disorders Trimosies 13, 18, and 21, commonly known as Patau Syndrome, Edward Syndrome and Down Syndrome respectively (SOFT – Support Organization for Trisomy 18, 13 and related disorders) (n.d.). Statistically, the occurrence of any of those syndromes is as follows:
- Patau Syndrome (Trimosy 13): 1 in 10,000 live births; (SOFT – Support Organization for Trisomy 18, ...