When Sally Phillips gave birth to her son Olly, she had a sense something was different.
It was 10 days later that a doctor sat down with Sally and her husband Andrew and said, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry”.
“The nurse on duty cried,” Sally told The Telegraph, “I don’t think anyone said anything at all positive.”
Her son Olly was diagnosed with Down syndrome, a genetic condition caused by an extra chromosome. People with Down syndrome might have a short neck, a smaller head, ears and mouth, wide, short hands, poor muscle tone and displacement of the tongue. Other characteristics include delayed development, learning disability, speech impairment, and in some cases, congenital heart disease.

It was all framed as 'bad news', Sally said. "You go home to deal with the 'bad news'... and it's all like something dreadful has happened."
Sally had never heard "any optimistic stories". She thought she wouldn't be able to work, and that having a Down syndrome baby would ruin her marriage. "I thought I'd just have to stay home with a dribbling baby," she told 60 Minutes last night.
But that's was not at all how her life unfolded.
Allana and Lovro, a Sydney couple, had a similar experience - except Allana received a positive result when she was tested during pregnancy, to see if her baby would be born with Down syndrome.
Top Comments
Currently the nIPT costs almost $500, all out of pocket. It's prohibitively expensive to many women, especially as a ultrasound at 12 weeks is also recommended to check nucal fold as nIPT can "miss" uncommon types of DS like mosaic. Everyone has the right to make informed choices about their pregnancy, but the cost bars many women.
As a mum of a child with down syndrome I ask that when you read this you focus on what we are saying. This is about making sure that parents are armed with up to date, relevant information, support and counselling so they can make the best choice for themselves. This is not about what any individual would choose it is about ensuring that whatever choice is made it is well supported. No mother should feel pressure to make either decision. If you are pregnant or a mother of a baby born between 2013-2017 please join us at T21 Mum Australia on facebook or email [email protected] to talk to supportive mothers who can be there for you through pregnancy beyond.