A mother who had just given birth was waiting to hold her newborn when a doctor said she should consider having another child because her baby had Down’s syndrome and was “no good”.

This story was recounted by Marthese Mugliette, president of the Down’s Syndrome Association, who believes hospital staff need to be more sensitive when telling parents their child has Down’s.

“I had a mother tell me how she heard nurses whisper between themselves before being told officially.

“In another case, a mother said that, minutes after giving birth, she was told she could place her baby in an institute,” Ms Mugliette said.

“More has to be done to improve how the news is broken. It’s not just a matter of tell-ing parents and that’s it. They need support.”

No one is ever ready to hear the news that their baby has some form of disability, though some argue that parents who find out during pregnancy have time to prepare themselves before the birth.

Down’s syndrome is caused by having an extra copy of chromosome 21 and the risk of a child developing it increases as a woman gets older.

A new prenatal test for the condition went on sale in Germany last month.

It is also available in Switzerland, Austria and Liechtenstein.

It involves screening pregnant women’s blood samples for the presence of foetal Down’s syndrome, also known as Trisomy 21.

In June, the International Federation of Down’s Syndrome Organisations objected to such testing in the European Court of Human Rights.

Ms Mugliette said her association also disagreed with carrying out prenatal tests for Down’s syndrome.

This could lead the parents to chose an abortion, despite this being illegal in Malta.

Consultant paediatrician Simon Attard Montalto said the prenatal test was based on the mother’s blood test at 12 to 14 weeks gestation.

“The problem is what to do with the result if it is positive for Trisomy 21.

“Overseas, such testing is carried out with the implication and assumption, at least in the vast majority of cases, that the mother will proceed to an abortion,” he said.

“Abortion is illegal in Malta and, as a rule, such tests - that are generally linked to and a pre-test for subsequent abortion - are not performed routinely.”

Christopher Barbara, director of Mater Dei Hospital’s pathology department, said some parents in Malta requested this test or software predictions.

“This service is not available at Mater Dei Hospital for the obvious reason that, if parents opt for an abortion, this will not be carried out because it is illegal,” he said.