Index
Before answering this question, it is necessary to understand what factors determine this possibility. Know about sexuality, the fertility of people in this condition.
For this we will pay attention to the studies carried out through the ages and a specific case of a mother with Down syndrome who was able to give birth to her baby in a healthy way.
How is Sexual Development and Behavior?
All individuals, regardless of disability, are sexual beings. Individuals with Down syndrome and other mental disabilities who engage in sexual behaviors, however, may experience social prejudices , as well as significant parental anxiety.
Sexual Dangers
The development of a safe sexual identity is a difficult task even for those who do not have a physical or mental disability. The emergence of sexual behaviors in the individual with Down syndrome alarms some parents and caregivers who, rightly, fear that their children’s cognitive deficits make them especially vulnerable:
- Unwanted pregnancy,
- Sexual exploitation and abuse
- Sexually transmitted diseases.
Masturbation, a rhythmic self-stimulation of the genital area, is a healthy and normal part of self-discovery. The incidence of masturbation in individuals with Down syndrome has been reported as 40% in men and 52% in women.
Fertility in People With Down Syndrome
The significantly impaired fertility of both sexes is evident in the Down syndrome population. Although men were presumed to be sterile, there is a report of a case where, a “normal” male baby that was generated by a man with Down syndrome.
Women who have experienced disorders have significant fertility: a series of reviews document women with down syndrome who have carried out a full-term pregnancy, giving birth to babies with and without Down syndrome.
Pregnancy and Down Syndrome
As with any woman, pregnancy is only considered risky if the pregnant woman has a health problem that justifies extra care, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity. However, the incidence of these pathologies is higher in patients with Down syndrome.
In addition, it is important to pay attention to prenatal care . Because, due to the lack of information from the pregnant woman and her family, it may happen that a mother with Down syndrome only sees a doctor when the pregnancy is already advanced.
Care during pregnancy is the same as all other women should take, considering in each case the occurrence or not of the issues mentioned above.
The type of delivery is defined according to the general condition of the woman and the baby. If the mother with down syndrome has a health problem for which normal delivery is not indicated or the baby has a malformation , cesarean section will be the method of choice.
The patient’s wishes are also taken into account: if she and her family feel more secure with the cesarean section , the doctor will probably perform this option.
The baby conceived in a mother with Down syndrome has a higher risk of premature birth and low birth weight. For a mother with Down syndrome to develop a high-risk pregnancy depends largely on the cognitive level and her medical condition.
Obviously, the presence of the diseases mentioned above, as well as seizure disorder, complicates a pregnancy. The high incidence of congenital heart disease in any baby with Down syndrome contributes to risk in pregnancy, including abortion and neonatal death. A baby without Down syndrome has a greater number of congenital anomalies.
Rare Pregnancy
There are still few women who have become a mother with down syndrome. According to medical literature, worldwide, there are about 50 documented cases of a mother with Down syndrome.
“Men with Down tend to be sterile and women are 50% more likely to become pregnant. The chances of these people having a child with the same condition is between 25% and 50%, depending on the characteristics of each individual “, explains Lenir Santos, president of the Brazilian Federation of Down Syndrome Associations.
Brazilian Case of a Mother With Down Syndrome
Maria Gabriela Andrade has Down syndrome and her partner, Fabio Marchetti de Moraes, has an intellectual disability. Both met as children at the school of the Association of Parents and Friends of Exceptional Children (APAE).
They started to like each other from the beginning, but Fabio changed schools for a few years and, when he returned, his childhood love was dating another boy, Erik, also with Down syndrome.
Fabio did not give up and fought until Gabriela recovered: to win her back he gave her boxes of his favorite sweets. Since then, they have not separated.
The parents of both put an extra bed in their homes so that they could be together. Both her parents and the doctors believed that Gabriela could never get pregnant , but they were wrong.
Nine years ago, Gabriela started to gain weight. Her mother said it was because she ate a lot, but when they felt that “ the belly was moving ”, they made an appointment with the gynecologist, who told them that Gabriela was six months pregnant.
“It was incredible, we couldn’t believe it. My daughter took the whole process very calmly and was very happy. Two months later, I was already holding my granddaughter in my arms, ”recalls grandmother Laurinda.
Valentina was born a month earlier than expected, without inheriting her mother’s or father’s disability. However, the joy of the new family was short-lived, when the judge denied the girl’s paternity to Fabio because he considered that he did not have the reasoning necessary to exercise the care of a father.
But, after several weeks of legal and media struggles, the courts changed their opinion. “We are now parents. We are very happy and prepared to take care of our little one ”, said Fabio when they went to register their daughter in the civil court of São Paulo.
A year later, in March 2009, Gabriela and Fabio got married. After the wedding, Gabriela sterilized tubes to avoid having more children.
See also: Translucência Nucal
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
