GENETIC COUNSELING:

1. Professional counseling about the gravity,

consequences and available alternatives in
dealing with the appearances of a hereditary
disorder.
Consists in instructing parents about the
risks involved in conceiving a baby. Parents are
adequately informed so that they can serenely
and prudently decide about whether procreation
is advisable or not. When conception has taken
place, counseling will help them in the diagnosis
and treatment of foreseeable genetic disorders.

2. A process of communication that attempts to deal

with the human problems associated with the
occurrence, or risk of occurrence, of a genetic
disorder in an individual or family. This involves
an attempt by one or more appropriately trained
persons to help an individual, couple, or family:

a) To comprehend the medical facts, such as the

risk of occurrence or recurrence of a disorder,
the possibilities for diagnosis, the probable
course of the disorder, and the available
therapies;
b)To appreciate the ways in which hereditary and
environmental factors contribute to the disorder
and the extent to which specified relatives are at
risk for being affected or for producing an
affected child;
 c) To understand the medically and ethically
acceptable options for dealing with a positive
diagnosis, as well as the reasons why other
options are medically and/or ethically
unacceptable;
d)To choose the course of action that seems
appropriate to the clients in view of their own
values and goals and to act in accordance with
their decisions; and
e) To make the best possible adjustment to the
disorder in an affected member of the family or
to the risk of a recurrence of the disorder.

Function of the genetic counselor:

To help prospective parents prepare themselves

for the possibility that a fetus will be defective and to
plan ways to provide for this eventuality; and help
them decide whether they will or will not have
children.

Problems also arise with regard to counseling

adults who have a genetic defect that will eventually
become a serious handicap or lead to early death.
Nevertheless, we would argue that individuals who
seriously suspect they have such serious defects
would be wise to have the matter settled by a reliable
test and to adjust their life plans accordingly.
 Couples have the duty of Responsible
parenthood, and society has a legitimate concern to
support and encourage this responsibility.

The genetic counselor therefore has the function

of helping prospective parents prepare themselves for
the possibility that a fetus will be defective and to plan
ways to provide for this eventuality. The counselor
also has the task of helping them decide whether they
will or will not have children.