An Elephant in the Consultation Room?: Configuring Down Syndrome in British Antenatal Care

Abstract

This article is based on an ethnographic study of prenatal screening for Down syndrome in two British health care institutions. Drawing on observations of everyday hospital life and interviews with health care professionals, I identify how a discussion of Down syndrome is avoided during prenatal screening consultations. This relative silence is created and upheld because of three things: (1) the British public is considered as knowing what Down syndrome is; (2) the organization of care dictates that the condition is not classified as important enough to justify an explanation within consultations; and (3) professionals frequently admit to having minimal knowledge of Down syndrome. This absence, together with the condition being categorized as a risk or problem, helps produce and uphold its status as a negative pregnancy outcome. I conclude by highlighting the contributions that this article has for anthropologically exploring how ideas around disability intersect with the proliferation of reproductive technologies.

Keywords: absence; disability; interaction; reproduction; risk.