Originally posted by flerc
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They take a lot of factors into consideration. It's just that they have found that 35 degrees is where the success rate falls by a larger margin than at other points.
It's the same logic used when they recommend that women over 35 have amniocentesis when they are pregnant. Now 35 is not set in stone, but they have to draw that line someplace - and the risk of having a baby with Downs Syndrome increases significantly around 35 and then keeps increasing as maternal age increases. A pregnant woman who is 25 or 30 would have a very small chance of carrying a baby with this sort of condition so the risks of the test (although small) would not outweigh the benefit. But most doctors will talk to their patients about this - and particularly if a woman is borderline (say, 35 or 36 years old), they may for example, decide to forego the test if the woman feels strongly that she didn't want it.
Same with VBS. If a patient is at 35 degrees but has a good amount of growth left and a somewhat flexible spine, and the parents want to try it, the doctors may say OK.
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