Down Syndrome

Down syndrome
Karla Patricia Isabel
Republica Dominicana

Many people are constantly asking why God gave them a kid with down syndrome, but what they don't know is that they have a blessingin their hands without knowing (John 9:3) Down syndrome was described in 1887 by John Langdon Down, is is the condition in which a baby is born with one extra chromosome or one less. This syndromeis expressed physically and mentally. What causes it the mayority of the time is that during the conception the child have 47 chromosomes and not 46, this causes the physical features anddevelopmental delays. Also the scientists have discovered that older the mother is, it have more chances to have a down syndrome child. At age 30 a woman has about a 1 in 1,000 chance of conceiving a childwith Down Syndrome, 1 in 400 by age 35 and at the age of 40 the risk rises to about 1 in 100. Kids with down syndrome have some physical features in common like: a flat facial profile, an upwardslant to the eyes, small ears, a protruding tongue, low muscle tone, are small, etc. Also these kids have medical problems like pulmonary hypertension, hearing, strabismus, near- or farsightedness,an increased risk of cataracts,thyroid problems, intestinal abnormalities, seizure disorders, respiratory problems, obesity, an increased susceptibility to infection, and a higher risk of childhoodleukemia. Because of all these sicknesses, the kid should be checked by a doctor often, so he can treat each one. 1 of 800 babies is born with down syndrome, 40 to 50% of children with Downsyndrome have congenital heart defects, Having Down syndrome increases the risk of leukaemia 15-20 times,100% of people with Down syndrome will develop some physiologic signs of Alzheimer’s when they areover 35 years old. So all these are the consecuences of down syndrome, but still is a blessing because God cana be gloried during the life of this person and the lives of his or her parents.