Unexpected: parenting, prenatal testing, and Down syndrome

When Alison Piepmeier - scholar of feminism and disability studies, and mother of Maybelle, an eight-year-old girl with Down syndrome - died of cancer in August 2016, she left behind an important unfinished manuscript about motherhood, prenatal testing, and disability.

George Estreich and Rachel Adams pick up where she left off, honouring the important research of their friend and colleague, as well as adding new perspectives to her work.

Based on interviews with parents of children with Down syndrome, as well as women who terminated their pregnancies because their fetus was identified as having the condition, 'Unexpected' paints an intimate, nuanced picture of reproductive choice in today's world.

At a time when medical technology is rapidly advancing, 'Unexpected' provides a much-needed perspective on our complex, and frequently troubling, understanding of Down syndrome.