Who Should be Offered Genetic Counseling?

A child or individual has a personal or family history of:

• One or more birth defects such as congenital heart defects, spina bifida, and cleft lip
• Altered growth patterns
• Developmental delay, mental retardation or certain neurological disorders
• A known or suspected genetic or chromosomal disorder, such as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy or Down syndrome
• Major behavioral/psychiatric problem
• Seizure disorder
• Certain types of cancer, such as early onset breast or colon cancer, ovarian cancer at any age. Cancer genetic counseling is also available through the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center Lifetime Cancer Screening Center

A couple with:

• Multiple pregnancy losses
• Ethnic backgrounds associated with an increased risk for genetic disease
• Consanguinity
• Advanced parental age
• Abnormal prenatal test results, including ultrasound, serum marker screening and/or prenatal diagnosis results
• Infertility, including egg donor screening