The BIGGEST month ever for downsyndromeprenataltesting.com

Thank you for making May the BIGGEST month ever for downsyndromeprenataltesting.com!

This past May was far and away the biggest month ever for the blog. This was thanks primarily to the post about American Idol contestant Caleb Johnson’s regrettable use of the “r-word” to describe his fans and my request that he take the pledge to end the world. That post got picked up by a couple of sites, including the Huffington Post, and made for a very enjoyable, crazy day of seeing views for the blog go through the roof.

However, even subtracting the views for that one post, the remaining posts still drove the blog to its second highest month in views by themselves. Posts like this one explaining how Sequenom’s MaterniT21 NEVER reports true positive results, despite what its marketing materials say to the contrary. And, this post featuring a video of my daughter’s first dance recital explaining how nothing has changed about Down syndrome, except how the world treats those with Down syndrome. It was also worth noting, and celebrating, that Delaware and Maryland joined Massachusetts and Kentucky in passing laws to provide information and support resources to parents receiving a positive test result for Down syndrome.

With the increased views, I wanted to call your attention to the right side of the webpage. You’ll see a column where you can search the blog (something I do regularly to find answers to reader’s questions). You can also sign up a couple of ways to see the latest posts. The easiest is by subscribing to the blog, which many new readers did during May. But, you can also follow me on Twitter, where I post links to recent columns on a regular basis.

Lastly, if you have found something shared here of value, or caused you to think differently about an issue, or learned something new about Down syndrome or prenatal testing, or if you are just a generous person, please also note that a “Donate” button has been added to the right column. Clicking the button will take you to the online donation page for the National Center for Prenatal & Postnatal Down Syndrome Resources. The Center is housed within the University of Kentucky, where I serve as the bioethics specialist. It provides the only resources recognized by both the National Society for Genetics Counselors and the American College of Medical Genetics & Genomics. By donating to the Center you will help ensure these materials are distributed to medical professionals and expectant mothers, and support the development of new resources.

So, thank you, to the thousands who viewed the blog during May. I hope you will continue to read, share, and comment on the issues discussed here.

(Hat tip to killer creative group, who installed the “Donate” button–Thanks!).