My wife is 35, i am 40. we are trying to conceive but are worried about down syndrome. we have a 5 yr old. wife had a miscarriage in october. should we worry?

Statistics & plans: The risk of Downs does increase with age. However, you do have access to test tools during pregnancy which can help you clarify what your particular situation turns out to be. The real question may be, what would you do with the result? If you knew the fetus had Downs, would you terminate? Plan adoption? Do special prep to provide best care yourselves? Testing helps only if you have a plan.

Worry about what ?: I find people have different levels of tolerance to risk. I counselled a man who wouldn't consider another kid if there was 1% chance of a repeat of his sons condition. Any pregnancy has a basic 4% risk of some unexpected outcome (premi,defect,sick) and your wife's age adds only 1% to that.You might feel better if you consult a geneticist.A review of both parents background can give specific nbrs

Not necessarily: Unless there is a family history of Down syndrome, your risk for having a baby with Down Syndrome at your ages is only slightly higher than it was five years ago. It is still very low, however, and prenatal diagnostic testing can be done with a high degree of accuracy early in the pregnancy.

No: Because of maternal age, the risk of delivering the child affected with Down syndrome is about 1 in 380. If anyone in your family is have down syndrome you're in. Risk is about one in 100. However, you can now have a blood test which analyzes the free fetal DNA in maternal blood which is 99.99% accurate for detection of trisomies, including Down, Edwards, and Patau, One lab starting at nine weeks zero days, and three labs starting at 10 weeks zero days with results in about a week. Confirmation of an abnormal result is recommended, either by amniocentesis or CVS. A single miscarriage is normal.