Dr Child's Casebook: When Two Become Three

This lovely little vignette is the conclusion to our three-part series on Pregnancy which began before Christmas on 17 December with Raising a New Hope.

Happy in an intimate union of two, a married couple would feel happier still to become three. The primal urge to create a new life that gives life a new meaning. But what of this new life when an inherited disorder exists within one half of the couple, the severity of which could be life-impairing? The ‘one half’ in question is a woman with mild Marfan syndrome whose close relatives have variable severity. Reluctant to pass on the condition, the couple approached Dr Child for advice on pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in vitro fertilisation (IVF). Some time later they wrote with the results ………..

Q: Dear Dr Child

I hope you are keeping well.

I just wanted to let you know that through using the amazing funding for IVF for PGD IVF we welcomed a son David in April last year. It was a long road to get to this point but SOOOO worth it! We are beyond grateful.

The support we had from Dr T---- and the team was fantastic! It’s been strange being on lockdown for the majority of my maternity leave but on the plus side my husband has spent a lot of time at time at home with us.

Best wishes,

XXX

For more information, see:
- The Acceptability of Prenatal Diagnosis & Pre-Implantation
- Starting a Family
- What to Expect When You’re Pregnant with Marfan Syndrome
- Going in to Labour with Marfan Syndrome
- Pregnancy in Marfan syndrome guide