Explaining Paediatric Geneticists & What they do
At Genetics.ie, we offer a wide range of genetic testing services from our Blackrock clinic under the supervision of Dr Willie Reardon. When we're not providing our patients with answers to life's most important questions, we're creating blogs like this one that educate our readers on various aspects from within our field.
Today we're here to talk about Paediatric Geneticists and the work they perform and to provide some clarity on the work entailed.
What is a Paediatric Geneticist?
Thankfully, most children are born with no birth defects or medical problems. About 3% of babies in the Western world have some defect present at birth. Happily, most are very minor and require no treatment. However, sometimes children are born with multiple congenital anomalies which may represent an underlying syndrome.
Other children have differences in body chemistry, brain development or body structure, which can result in problems relating to social interaction, health and development in future years.
A Pediatric Geneticist is skilled in evaluating, diagnosing and investigating these types of disorders and their causes. This may result in treatments and tests that allow a better understanding of a child's condition and how they should be cared for.
They might also suggest treatments and tests aimed at helping families understand whether their child's condition is hereditary, as well as showing who else in the family may be at risk of having children with similar issues.
What Kinds of Treatments Do Paediatric Geneticists Offer?
Paediatric Geneticists provide treatment for children from birth (and sometimes before birth) and throughout adolescence. Their specialist training equips them with the skills they need to diagnose, counsel and treat families with a range of issues that include:
Disability-causing conditions like fragile X syndrome & fetal alcohol syndrome
Conditions that include multiple birth defects (e.g., Williams Syndrome & Down Syndrome)
Hereditary health problems (e.g., hypercholesterolemia, congenital heart disease)
Metabolic inborn errors (e.g., sickle cell, cystic fibrosis etc)
Tall or short-stature syndromes
Birth defects
Meeting All of Your Genetic Testing Needs Including Paediatric Genetics
The Genetics.ie team provides a wide range of genetic testing for both adult and paediatric disorders. Offering prenatal genetic testing, as well as testing for birth defects and infertility, our team works under the watchful eye of the highly experienced Dr Willie Reardon - someone with more than 25 years under his belt at the world's leading hospitals.
To find out more about what we do, please visit us online today at www.genetics.ie where you'll find everything you need to know. Alternatively, to get in touch, call 087 4037149 and we’ll be happy to help in any way we can.