But the child, a girl named Haley, was born with Down syndrome. And Helms was not emotionally prepared when the doctor held up an infant with a misshapen, bruised head and sunken eyes. N.C. Helms said after she held Haley, they bonded. But when she became pregnant again, at age 20, she wanted no more surprises. She went to a genetic counselor.
Genetic counselors are relatively rare.
The profession is only about 30 years old. Genetic counselors number about 2,000 in the United States. Those numbers are expected to grow, thanks in part to the establishment of new training programs, such as the one at University of North Carolina Greensboro,which enrolled its first students last summer. It is the first program in the state. Specifically, they educate patients about health problems that may run in their families.