Hornchurch & Upminster MP, Julia Lopez, has pushed for improvements to how local NHS services deal with Down Syndrome diagnoses as part of a UK-wide maternity campaign.
National charity, Down Syndrome UK (DSUK) is asking maternity professionals to have a modern understanding of the reality of living with Down syndrome so they can provide the best advice and support to parents. Too often, parents are not getting accurate information and ongoing support when told their unborn child may have Down syndrome, steering them towards termination.
DSUK research suggests that after discovering their baby may have Down syndrome, 56% of expectant parents are leaving maternity appointments with no information, whilst 66% are never offered any form of counselling or assistance.
Mrs Lopez attended Down Syndrome UK’s photography exhibition You-Can’t-Put-Me-Down Syndrome in Parliament, and committed to taking the campaign up with the Chief Executive of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT) to highlight its request to address the outdated attitudes in maternity services towards people with Down syndrome.
BHRUT confirmed that women who have a high chance screening result, following their first or second trimester screening, are seen by the Fetal Medicine Midwives Unit (FMU) and the team discuss the options for further testing. If Down syndrome is confirmed, BHRUT refers mothers to the Down’s Syndrome Association and Antenatal Results and Choices (ARC) service.
Mrs Lopez said ‘It was a pleasure to join Down Syndrome UK’s exhibition in Parliament, meet their models and learn about the patchy advice expectant parents are getting when told their child might have Down syndrome. It is really important that they get the right information when making life-changing decisions, that health professionals use dispassionate language, and that non-judgemental guidance and peer support is available. After sharing the campaign’s pledges with BHRUT, I was glad to learn that Havering’s NHS team already provides significant support to local parents’.
