Dr Supa Tunje, a paeditrician at Adora Children's clinic in Kitengela, says that when it comes to birth, no parent has intrinsic abilities to determine their progeny. You set forth to have a child but have little or no power to pre-determine their health status or even physical features.
In the same way, there is no parent who plans to have a child with Down's Syndrome. "It is beyond human ability to do that," Dr Tunje says.
In developed countries, in vitro tests that determine if a foetus has Down's Syndrome are available. Dr Tunje doubts if that technology is available in Kenya.
However, the anomaly scan, done during antenatal visits, may be able to capture defects associated with Down's syndrome, at which point a parent can seek for advice from a paeditrician. There is a lot a parent with a Down's Syndrome child can do to ensure that the child's health is not in danger and has as normal a life as possible.
Foremost, says Tunje, when a parent takes notice of an abnormality – babies suffering from Down's Syndrome have slanting eyes, a flat back of the head, broad hands with short fingers, a big space between the first and second toe, among other symptoms – they should seek thorough medical analysis to ascertain the baby's health status.
"If the tests come back positive for Down's Syndrome a parent will need to understand that their baby will likely face heart defect problems (and will need corrective surgery as soon as possible), weight challenges and slow mental development," Dr Supa says.
That should not mean gloom. If attended to properly, at the right time, Down's Syndrome children have a real chance at a normal life.
"The parent will need to be understanding of their child and their development," Dr Supa adds.