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In Emotional Video, Parents Share the Joys and Fears of a Down Syndrome Diagnosis

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Downside Up Inc. is a nonprofit based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, helping bring together families who have loved ones with Down syndrome. The organization teamed up with a few families in the community to produce a video for parents who have just received a Down syndrome diagnosis, and as expected, there are both tears and smiles.

The aim of the video is to congratulate new parents and “bring hope to them for the future of their child at a moment where their joy of having a brand new beautiful baby is overshadowed by the fear of a diagnosis.”

“It’s OK to be scared and feel frustration and fear and sadness and a lot of things that you don’t expect to feel when you first have a baby,” one mother says in the clip, when asked if she could talk to her past self. “Because your journey has changed, and change is hard, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not going to be totally amazing.”


Have you seen the first film with a national release to star a person with Down syndrome? Check out the film “Where Hope Grows” today!

Available for purchase on Amazon and iTunes.

Originally published: March 7, 2016
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