A Pregnant Patient, Learning That Her Unborn Child Has a High

question 39

Multiple Choice

A pregnant patient, learning that her unborn child has a high risk for Down syndrome, tells the nurse that she can just hear her mother now telling her "you should have had children when you were young and not in your late 30s." Which of the following should the nurse respond to this patient?

• A)"There might be a higher risk for Down syndrome with an older mother but younger women have also given birth to babies with Down syndrome."
• B)"Maybe you should have listened to your mother."
• C)"I wish all women would have children before they were 30 to eradicate the disease."
• D)"It's not too late to terminate the pregnancy and try again."

---

Definitions:

Upstream Promoter Elements

Regions of DNA located before (upstream of) the coding sequence of a gene that help initiate transcription by providing binding sites for RNA polymerase and transcription factors.

Eukaryotes

Organisms whose cells have a nucleus enclosed within a nuclear envelope, making up one of the three recognized domains of life, including plants, animals, fungi, and protists.

Transcription Initiation

The first stage of gene expression in which the enzyme RNA polymerase binds to a promoter region of DNA, starting the process of RNA synthesis.

TATA Box

A DNA sequence found in the promoter region of genes, indicating where transcription begins; crucial for gene expression.