How New Genetic Technologies Are Reshaping Pregnancy And Parenting

As the nascent field of genetic testing advances, expectant parents face a dizzying array of new and difficult questions. Would you want to know if your child will have Down syndrome? Or if your baby is genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s disease? What about if the fetus has a gene duplication that might mean nothing ― or could spell a serious genetic disorder?  The sci-fi world of designer babies may not be here yet, but modern genetic technology is already fundamentally changing pregnancy and parenting. Thanks to advances in prenatal and postnatal genetic testing, parents now have access to unprecedented amounts of information about their children’s genetic makeup, biology and susceptibility to disease. But as science journalist Bonnie Rochman notes, this wealth of new data has as much potential to inspire anxiety and confusion as it does to enlighten. In her new book The Gene Machine: How Genetic Technologies Are Changing The Way We Have Kids ― And The Kids We Have, Rochman dives into the promises and challenges of genetic advances likely to shape our reproductive futures.   The Scope recently sat down with Rochman to learn more about this exploding field of medicine.  What kind of information do parents get from prenatal testing? Why would someone choose to get this testing done?   Perhaps the most important thing when you’re approaching prenatal testing is to completely understand what you’re signing ...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news