DUBAI // The pressure on Emirati mothers to have more children is probably the main reason for the "alarming" rate of Down's syndrome in the country, an official has said.
The risk of a child being born with Down's syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes lifelong damage to mental development, increases with the age of the mother.
Globally, about one in 800 to 1,000 new-born babies have Down's syndrome. A study published in 2007 that looked at more than 63,000 new-born babies in Dubai between 1999 and 2003 estimated an incidence of Down's syndrome in one in every 449 live births, with the rate among nationals at one in 319.
"This was very alarming," said Dr Eman Gaad, the director of disability services at the Community Development Authority. "Many children [with Down's syndrome] are born to young parents, but the only factor we can put our hands on is the maternal age of mothers."
The study concluded that more than 41 per cent of Emirati mothers were over 35, the age at which the risk of Down's syndrome increases.
"At the moment, girls are getting an education. By the time she graduates from university and finds her soulmate, we're talking about the late 20s, not like before," said Dr Gaad, speaking a week after she addressed a Down's syndrome symposium that tackled the rights of children with disabilities.
A woman was under "tremendous pressure to have more babies" in a society that, understandably, wanted to grow, she added.
"It's OK to have a child or two, or five, but once you hit 40 you have to be really careful," Dr Gaad said. "If it's God's will and an accident it's OK, but it's a phenomenon that many women keep having children. There is no awareness that it's really time to stop."
Dr Gaad suggested that pregnancy often carried alluring connotations of fertility and youth, whereas education about the risks of high maternal age was lacking.
Pressure from the authorities to increase the birth rate was unlikely to work, but social influence was certainly a driving force for high maternal age, said Dr Suaad al Oraimi, assistant professor of sociology at UAE University and an expert on women's education. High maternal age was the result of "simple, traditional, tribal" culture, she said.
"Simple cultures consider children a form of honour, and we are a traditional society," Dr al Oraimi said.
Having children was not particularly expensive for nationals, she said. The Government paid for the education and health care of Emirati children, and women often had maids or extended family to help in looking after them, said Dr al Oraimi.
Dr Khawla Bu Hmaid, a gynaecologist at Al Baraha Hospital in Dubai, said new research was needed to bring Down's syndrome figures up to date. Higher maternal age was not unique to the UAE, she said.
"Of course, women are now working, the age to get married and to have babies is older, especially because more people want to do higher studies," Dr Bu Hmaid said.
She agreed, however, that women in the region were under pressure to have up to six babies.
A test can determine if a foetus is likely to have a defect. In amniocentesis, a needle takes a sample of amniotic fluid, which covers a foetus in the womb, between 14 and 20 weeks of pregnancy.
According to the Harvard Medical School, the test is often recommended for women over 35. A study published in Britain in 1999 said 92 per cent of cases in which a foetus is diagnosed with Down's syndrome ends in an abortion.
Most Islamic scholars prohibit abortion except in extreme cases where pregnancy threatens the life of the mother.
Some scholars have argued that abortion with strong cause is permitted during the first six to eight weeks, before the foetus develops a pulse, or during the first four months before the foetus is infused with a spirit, according to Islamic tradition.
However, in the UAE abortion is prohibited unless doctors certify it is life-threatening for the mother.
A disability is not considered a justifiable reason for an abortion, according to the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments.
@Email:kshaheen@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
UAE%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3E%0DJemma%20Eley%2C%20Maria%20Michailidou%2C%20Molly%20Fuller%2C%20Chloe%20Andrews%20(of%20Dubai%20College)%2C%20Eliza%20Petricola%2C%20Holly%20Guerin%2C%20Yasmin%20Craig%2C%20Caitlin%20Gowdy%20(Dubai%20English%20Speaking%20College)%2C%20Claire%20Janssen%2C%20Cristiana%20Morall%20(Jumeirah%20English%20Speaking%20School)%2C%20Tessa%20Mies%20(Jebel%20Ali%20School)%2C%20Mila%20Morgan%20(Cranleigh%20Abu%20Dhabi).%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Malin Cilic (CRO) v Benoit Paire (FRA) [8]
Not before 4pm:
Dan Evans (GBR) v Fabio Fogini (ITA) [4]
Not before 7pm:
Pablo Carreno Busta (SPA) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) [2]
Roberto Bautista Agut (SPA) [5] v Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
Court One
Starting at 2pm
Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND) v Dennis Novak (AUT)
Joao Sousa (POR) v Filip Krajinovic (SRB)
Not before 5pm:
Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (GBR) [1] v Marin Cilic v Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Nikoloz Basilashvili v Ricardas Berankis (LTU)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Ukraine
Capital: Kiev
Population: 44.13 million
Armed conflict in Donbass
Russia-backed fighters control territory
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
