Babies born with Down’s syndrome (previously called mongolism) have a characteristic appearance, are mentally handicapped and may also have other birth defects.

Every pregnant woman has a risk of having a baby with Down’s syndrome. The risk increases as a woman becomes older. For example, about 1 in 1,000 women who are 28 years old will give birth to a baby with Down’s syndrome, but a woman who is 38 years old has about a 1 in 200 risk. Until recently, it was thought that a woman’s age was the only way to tell what her risk would be. Now we can use the levels of various hormones and proteins including AFP, uE3, and hCG in her blood as well as her age to estimate the risk. Using the maternal serum screening test, two thirds of Down’s syndrome babies can be identified before birth.