For Article A, why did the mother need amniocentesis after the first blood test for Down Syndrome?
For Article A, why did the mother need amniocentesis after the first blood test for Down Syndrome?
Sources for this assignment: [PDF files of the two articles are provided under educational “fair use”.]
Article A) “Where Risk and Hope and Choice Converge”
Web link: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/health/18tren.html
Article B) “Where a Woman Lives Influences Whether Baby Will Be Born Prematurely”
Web link: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/08/pre-term-birth-race/567862/
Video C) link: Advocates raise awareness for FASD (3:31)
Video D) link: Why do pregnant women get confusing guidance about alcohol? (6:20)
Questions to Answer:
- For Article A, why did the mother need amniocentesis after the first blood test for Down Syndrome? (Some definitions to consider: false positive, types of prenatal tests: screening test vs. diagnostic test.)
- In Article A, there is one short example and one longer example of cultural context. What are some details about each of these two sets of parents that the counselor would need to consider when she met with them? (Please review the definition of “culture” in Chapter 1.)
- In Article B, imagine you are the nurse when baby Rodrigo was born. Would his score on the Apgar Scale be low or high? Why? (Please be specific about some of the five variables measured. Also note that the score would be done after removing Rodrigo’s amniotic sac.)
- In Article B’s story of La’Shawn Gaines, what are her symptoms of postpartum depression? Is this disorder the same as “baby blues” that most mothers experience? Why/why not?
- Think back to the definition of Ecological Systems in Chapter 1. In Article B, if you were a professional working in that community, which parts of the macro-system would you want to fix to improve maternity and neonatal services? Why?
- How do Video C and Video D connect to the Chapter 2 concept of threshold effect?
- Video D says, “…doctors don’t know how much alcohol can cause FASD” and “There’s no conclusive evidence about a drink every now and then.” Think back to Chapter 1 and research methods. Which is the only method (case study, naturalistic observation, laboratory observation, survey, experiment) that shows proof of causation? Why do you think that method has never been used in research during pregnancy?
- Imagine you are a researcher working with kindergarten students being assessed for special needs services. You want to give the mothers a survey about their alcohol use when pregnant with these children. Would a survey approach work well with this particular research topic, or not? Explain.
- Researchers always consider the possible effects of other “independent variables” besides the ones they actually decide to study. From what we have covered since the start of the semester, what other factors might explain whether mothers do or don’t use alcohol during pregnancy? (Hint: Think of the relevance of your major or your intended career.)
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