The Event This month, the New York Academy of Sciences hosted a screening and panel discussion of In My Hands.
It was during one of those interminable cups of tea, and chit-chat about breastfeeding. The trainee midwife craned forward to get a closer look. Marfan syndrome is an inherited connective tissue disorder, which sufferers have 50 per cent chance of passing on.
The outlook is much better for those diagnosed with the syndrome: 72.
Nearly seven years on from giving birth, perspective has overtaken post-natal hormones, and I realise that our family is lucky.
Because connective tissue is found throughout the body, Marfan syndrome can affect the skeleton, eyes, heart and blood vessels, nervous system, skin and lungs.
People with Marfan's tend to be unusually tall and slender, with particularly long arms, legs and fingers.