“I stopped working so I could be here so they wouldn’t be at day
care and wouldn’t get exposed to so many germs. ……. you
know I gave up my career so that I could better take care of the
kids……. I don’t work anymore. So this is the worst thing
for me, if we are talking about me as a mother. I always thought that I
would have a career and a family too, close together and right now I can
only I don’t have any career right now and I studied a lot and when I
meet my old friends, you know from university or from school, they are
like, oh my god, I don’t believe you don’t work! This is what everybody
expected or I was expecting from myself.” (mother 8)
The child’s genetic diagnosis prompted the parents to reflect on family
goals and some parents discussed their decision not to have any more
children.