Down Syndrome Pregnancy

08/13/2026

August is National Breastfeeding Month! 🤱 This month, we're highlighting a resource designed to help families access the information and support they need when learning about breastfeeding a baby with Down syndrome.

📖 Breastfeeding and Down Syndrome: A Comprehensive Guide for Mothers and Medical Professionals was developed by Julia's Way, a non-profit program now integrated into the MDSC National Parents First Call Center. This book includes information on everything from preparing to breastfeed, breastfeeding after heart surgery, getting to the breast after tube feedings, and much more.

💛 This comprehensive resource is available through the Lettercase Bookstore at LettercaseBooks.org and can also be downloaded for free at DownSyndromePregnancy.org!

08/06/2026

🎧 Have you listened to our CODED: Genetics podcast?

Join Dr. Stephanie Meredith and Katie Stoll, MS, CGC as they explore the most pressing issues at the intersection of genetics, healthcare policy, and bioethics.

Check out our top 3 podcast episodes:
⭐ Echoes of Eugenics in Modern Tech
⭐ Beyond Headlines: Down Syndrome and CRISPR
⭐ Understanding Medicaid's Crucial Role for People with Disabilities

Listen at buzzsprout.com/2455086 or wherever you get your podcasts!

07/29/2026

What an incredible week at the Down Syndrome Affiliates in Action (DSAIA) and National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC) conferences! 💙

Our team, including Viviane Polarson, MS, CGC, Dr. Stephanie Meredith, and Dr. Nicholas Wright from Gonzaga University, had the opportunity to connect with Down syndrome advocates, families, healthcare professionals, and community organizations from across the country. Together, we shared our medically and community-reviewed resources for new and expectant parents learning about Down syndrome.

We also led sessions with wonderful colleagues on:
⭐ Finding and writing successful grant applications for nonprofit organizations
⭐ Building partnerships between local Down syndrome organizations and healthcare providers to better support new and expectant parents
⭐ Using personal stories to advocate for meaningful policy change

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth, attended a session, presented alongside us, and shared in these important conversations. We're grateful to be part of such a passionate community working to support people with Down syndrome and their families. 💙

07/28/2026

"What stood out most about our Down syndrome diagnosis was how much the tone and framing of the conversation mattered. In those early moments, reassurance, compassion, and hope were just as important as medical facts. While we were learning about potential challenges, we were also discovering that our child was first and foremost a baby, deserving of celebration, joy, and unconditional love."
- Jack's Basket Recipient

⬆️ This right here is why we are equipping medical providers with the tools & resources to deliver a Down syndrome diagnosis with compassion.

Help us change the way the story starts for new families! Share our Provider Resources with the doctors, nurses, social workers, and genetic counselors in your community:
https://jacksbasket.org/provider-resources/

07/28/2026

Penny, our oldest daughter, is 20 years old and has Down syndrome. I could narrate her life through a lens of deprivation. She doesn’t drive a car or ride a bike. She wears glasses and has mild hearing loss and uses orthotics in her shoes. She belongs to a historically marginalized and oppressed group of people.

But I can also tell a different story. Penny attends a program for young adults with intellectual disabilities at a local college. She follows the Yankees so faithfully she has vowed never to move to Boston. She always wants the best for the people she loves and can laugh at herself easily.

The overwhelming majority of people with Down syndrome and their family members report happiness and satisfaction with their lives and relationships. And when people with Down syndrome tell their stories, they use words like, “I love my life.”

A diagnosis of trisomy 21 might seem like a straightforward set of facts. But every diagnosis—and every indication of a potential diagnosis—is its own story, told within a network of medical information, families and communities, and social supports and messaging. We are humans who need one another and give of ourselves to one another, humans who cannot avoid suffering but who can decide to move toward one another in love.

The way we tell the complex story of Down syndrome—the language we use, the statistics we present, and the anecdotes we share—both reflects who we are as a society and shapes who we are becoming...

Read the full essay: https://thedispatch.com/article/down-syndrome-narrative-ridgway-children/
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[image description: Peter holds baby Penny. She is wearing a white sunhat and pink swimsuit at the edge of the ocean. She looks toward the waves as Peter smiles and lifts a hand to adjust her sunhat.]

07/28/2026

07/27/2026

07/17/2026

It's going to be a big week for us at the National Down Syndrome Congress Conference this coming week!

GSF/Lettercase/Down Syndrome Pregnancy be exhibiting at Down syndrome Affiliates in Action Wednesday and Thursday, so come by and see us for free book samples, Andy Meredith postcards, and Ghirardelli chocolate!

Dr. Stephanie Meredith will be presenting with Dr. Nicholas Wright on Wednesday from 4-5pm about Grant Writing 101 and Grants with a Purpose (Medical Outreach).

Next, we will be presenting with the Down syndrome Collaborative on Thursday from 9:30-10:30 about how to "Grow and Sustain Parent Support and Medical Outreach Programs Through Community Collaboration"

Then, Stephanie will be presenting about "How to Tell Your Story So It Leads to Action" on a panel during the Advocacy Training Bootcamp on Friday morning from 8:30-11am.

And finally Stephanie will be presenting alongside Jawanda Mast on Sunday from 9-10:30 about "Moving Past the School and Teen Years: Tip and Tricks for Putting Together the Jigsaw Puzzle of Adult Life."

Please come join us--we hope to see you there!

07/10/2026

Happy Disability Pride Month! We're excited to share that Stephanie will be presenting on July 24 during a panel at the National Down Syndrome Congress Advocacy Training Boot Camp (ATBC)! 🎉 Her talk will explore how to motivate and engage legislators through storytelling and social media.

Disability rights are facing significant challenges, including cuts to Medicaid, the proposed transfer of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services from the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Justice's challenge to the long-standing "integration mandate" of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). During times like these, we are especially grateful for the disability advocacy organizations working tirelessly to advance policies that support people with genetic conditions and other disabilities.

Thank you to the National Down Syndrome Congress, National Down Syndrome Society, The Arc of the United States, American Association of People with Disabilities, and so many more!

07/10/2026

Today, we are spotlighting an episode of the Aging with Down Syndrome Podcast. Brian Chicoine, MD, from our Center, and Kandi Pickard, from the National Down Syndrome Society, joined hosts Jadene, Kristin, and Molly to discuss CARE Down Syndrome - a free online education and resource hub for healthcare professionals of adults with Down syndrome. CARE Down Syndrome was developed by the National Down Syndrome Society and over 40 experts in the Down syndrome community.

The link to this episode and other episodes related to health of adults with Down syndrome are available in our Resource Library!
🔗 https://adultdownsyndrome.org/resources/aging-with-down-syndrome-podcast/

Want to share CARE Down Syndrome with your healthcare professionals? Check out the CARE Down Syndrome website for email templates and one-pagers ➡ https://careds.org/families-and-caregivers/