If you had handed me this list the day I received my positive NIPT result, I would not have believed a word of it. I was terrified of what life with Down syndrome would mean for my child, my family, and my future. Years later, raising my son Cade has taught me lessons I never expected. These are the ten things I wish someone had told me during those long months between diagnosis and birth.

I opened MyChart expecting to learn my baby's gender. Instead, I found a positive screening result for Down syndrome and began one of the most difficult journeys of my life. This article explores the shock, fear, information overload, and uncertainty many families experience after a positive NIPT result—and why understanding those first moments matters.