newborn missing a toe

amother

Thu, Feb 05 2009, 7:07 am

ss321 wrote:

ShakleeMom wrote:

I'm not joking this time... would a parent donate for a child ?

its not that simple. To put the kid on immunosupressant drugs for the rest of his life, in order for him to have an extra toe is not worth the risks involved (rejection, those drugs wreak havoc, etc), and no doctor in his right mind would ever attempt it.

Amother you didnt do anything wrong!!! This is genetic. Please dont look back and say "couldve, shouldve, wouldve"- if there is something you did, there is no way you will ever be able to pinpoint it anyway. but its genetic, and B"H its "just" a toe (I know that sounds mean-I am not trying to be insenstitive, but in the long run, he will be ok!!)

Thanks, but will my other kids have the same problem? If it's genetic ( the pediatrician at the hospital says it isn't) then why doesn't anyone in the family have the same thing. I've never seen or heard of something like this. Sad

ss321

Thu, Feb 05 2009, 8:19 am

Strudel wrote:

I think one poster got a bit confused by saying its genetic. The term is congenital, meaning in happened in the womb. She was right in saying that you did nothing wrong, its one of those unexplained issues. To put it in perspective, a friend has an 11 year old, her oldest, who's right arm ends at the elbow. She was born like this. Her 5 other siblings have no such problems, plus I know her extended family, and no other kids have this type of issue.

I wasnt confused Smile

http://www.associatedcontent.c.....at=70
I dont know why the kid was born missing a digit. Her ped doesnt know why. She doesnt know why. My guess is as good as anyones. But it is not likely that it was "CAUSED" advertently or inadvertently by something she did while she was pregnant.
if there is a geneticist on here, and I am wrong, Im sorry, and please do correct me!! My info is based on what I learned in one semester of one class.
congenital and genetic are not the same thing, I am well aware Smile

ss321

Thu, Feb 05 2009, 8:23 am

amother wrote:

Chances are not.
If it was something you did while you were pregnant (which I dont think it is. but again, I dont think anyone knows), there is no way you can pinpoint that "thing." and if it was something you did - it also probably isnt one "thing" it was a combination of factors...you cant go back and erase the past and you also cant change the future or predict it.
If it is something the kid has actually inherited based on your and DH's genes, keep in mind that that doesnt mean every kid would have it. Just like the really serious disorders-tay saychs for example, which is recessive. To simplify stuff: if two parents carry the gene for tay sachs, that doesnt mean every one of their kids will have it. That means there is x out of y chance that each kid will be born with it.
There is nothing you can do to "fix" what happened, and medicine isnt advanced enough in 2009 to give you a "reason."
Just thank hashem its not a FINGER (which would be more "embarassing" and noticeable - that was one of your initial questions, and would be harder to get used to living without), and look forward not back.

ss321

Thu, Feb 05 2009, 10:56 am

stealing this from another thread,
but amother, I thought this would be an interesting read for you.
Fox has addressed some of your issues.
See below:

Fox wrote:

I haven't heard anything about this, but I don't live in Brooklyn.

However, it would be almost unheard of in North America for such anomalies to be caused by taking medication during pregnancy. While people remember the Thalidomide babies in Europe, they sometimes forget that the U.S. had virtually none -- the FDA had rejected the drug because of inadequate safety studies. And clearly, the doctor has nothing to do with it!

There are a variety of syndromes, including muscular-skeletal and cranio-facial syndromes, that can result in such problems. There are a handful of researchers who are actively working on the genetic basis of various syndromes, and what they have discovered is as follows:

1. Most syndromes with these features are not a matter of simply 9th grade dominant/recessive genetics. They involve triggers that produce collagen in the developing fetus, and while there are some familial links, the vast majority of affected individuals have no one in their families with similar anomalies going back several generations.

2. Such syndromes may have multiple causes; in other words, there might be a familial link, but other cases might be caused by different trigger or lack thereof during fetal development.

3. Most syndromes are not concentrated in any one racial or ethnic group.

4. These kinds of syndromes are not the result of poor prenatal care or other events during pregnancy. Nothing you do can cause or prevent these syndromes.

5. Features associated with various syndromes can range from mild to severe. Many individuals might be unaware that they even have such a syndrome. I've met many people who say things like, "Oh, yeah, my left arm is almost 2 inches shorter than my right. I always wondered about that!" Obviously, in other cases, the anomaly is more obvious.

6. The vast majority of these syndromes are NOT associated with more serious internal defects or illnesses, and they are NOT associated with decreased mental functioning.

Interestingly, people often react with more fear and anxiety about these kinds of health issues than they do to far more serious issues; I guess many people find it harder to look at a baby or child with an obvious deformity than a hidden one -- even though the hidden one may be far more threatening or deadly.

Whether this turns out to be true or not, you can do a lot for people with similar physical anomalies by fighting ignorance:

1. If the subject comes up, explain to friends that these syndromes do not have anything to do with what the mother did/didn't do during pregnancy. Don't allow yourself to engage in magical thinking ("She must have taken some kind of medicine; I don't take medicine, so my baby won't have a similar problem"). Gently correct people who insist that there must be some identifiable "cause" that they can understand. Medical researchers are doing hishtadlus, and when Hashem wants us to understand, we will.

2. Remember -- and remind people who forget -- that many people have "defects" of some kind! Imagine if everyone who had a learning disability could trade it in for a bad arm. Or if you could trade a predisposition to heart disease for a missing finger! The defects we see are not necessarily the ones that make life difficult.

3. Unless you are actively employed in the medical field in specific areas, you probably have no idea how much reconstructive surgery -- including lengthening limbs -- can be done. When my late DD was born without thumbs, her surgeons simply repositioned the muscles of her index fingers to make thumbs. She was still one finger short on each hand, but I stopped occupational therapy at age three -- when she took a screw driver and removed all the handles from my floor-level kitchen cabinets.

I know that hearing such news can be upsetting and worrisome when you're pregnant, and all the logic in the world won't alleviate the anxiety. But just try to focus on being a good parent -- no matter what your baby needs from you.