Don't Screen Us Out!

With more advanced prenatal tests to be offered by the NHS, three mums share their experiences of coping with a Down’s syndrome diagnosis…

- Kim Willis & Anna Verdon

Pregnancy should be an exciting time for any parent – coming up with names, guessing what your baby will look like and decorating their bedroom. But what if you were told your child would grow up with a life-limiting condition?

For years, the NHS has offered mums-to-be an amniocentesis to check for conditions such as Down’s syndrome, but now a non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) to detect chromosomal abnormalities has been approved. Previously only available privately, campaign group Don’t Screen Us Out fears this will lead to more terminations – and a world without Down’s syndrome.

Here, three mums of children with Down’s explain why that would be a terrible – and heartbreaking – mistake… 

‘Connie is just like any other little girl’

Julie Britton, 45, lives in Leeds with her partner Peter, 46, and Connie, three.

My daughter Connie is only three but already she’s becoming quite the star. She’s appeared in posters for children’s boutiques and even been asked to star in TV adverts. But the most important job she’s done is for the Don’t Screen Us Out campaign.

When I gave birth to Connie in October 2013, she was eight weeks premature and just 3lb 7oz. We’d been told during the pregnancy there was a chance she could have Down’s but our medical team had been so supportive, it hadn’t worried us.

My partner Peter and I were warned she would be behind on her milestones, but we refused to believe Down’s would hold her back. And after bringing Connie home, by 10 months she was crawling.

When she started mainstream nursery, all the children adored her – she was always invited to their birthday parties. And taking her to our local Down’s syndrome support group, not only did Connie make more friends, but I did, too.