Down's Syndrome

             1 out of 691 babies are born with down’s syndrome. They say about 6,000 babies are born with down’s syndrome every year. Babies and adults with Down syndrome can have physical problems, as well as intellectual disabilities. Every baby born with Down syndrome is different. In addition to the physical signs, some might have major birth defects or other medical problems. However, many people with down syndrome live happy, productive lives well into adulthood. Still there are some physical problems associated with downs syndrome which include, a birth defect of the heart, stomach problems, such as a blocked small intestine, celiac disease, a digestive disease that damages the small intestine so that nutrients from food are not absorbed well, problems with memory, concentration, and judgment, often called dementia, hearing problems, Eye problems, such as cataracts or trouble seeing objects that are close by (far-sighted), thyroid problems, and skeletal problems.  A person with Down syndrome can have an IQ in the mild-to-moderate range of intellectual disabilities. He or she also might have delayed language development and difficulties with physical coordination.
 

          What causes down’s syndrome? To understand down syndrome, it is necessary to understand how a baby develops. Each baby starts developing when he or she receives 23 chromosomes from the mother’s egg and 23 chromosomes from the father’s sperm. When a baby has Down syndrome, an error happened when either the egg or the sperm was formed. This error caused an extra chromosome (called chromosome number 21) in the egg or sperm, so that the baby received a total of 24 instead of 23 chromosomes from one of its parents. Therefore, the baby ends up having 47 chromosomes in every cell of his or her body, instead of 46 chromosomes. This extra chromosome causes the physical signs and additional problems that can occur among people with Down syndrome. The causes of the problems that produces the extra chromosome is not known. The age of the mother is the only factor that has been shown to increase the risk of having a baby with down syndrome. This risk increases with every year, especially after the mother is 35 years of age. However, because younger women are more likely to have babies than older women, 80% of babies with down syndrome are born to women younger than 35 years of age. CDC (centers for disease control) works with many researchers to study the risk factors that can increase the chance of having a baby with down syndrome. Some of the following examples of what this research has found is the number of babies with down syndrome seems to be increasing, especially among mothers older than 35 years of age, certain factors seem to influence how long a person with down syndrome will live, including ethnicity, low weight at birth, and whether the baby was born with a heart defect, and death rates among Black or African-American infants with down syndrome seem to be higher than death rates among white infants with down syndrome.

              Most questions about down’s syndrome is can it be prevented? There is no known way to prevent the down syndrome. However, infants and children with down syndrome often will benefit from special programs that help to improve their physical and mental limitations. These include speech therapy, occupational therapy, and exercises for physical coordination. Children with down syndrome usually also need extra help or attention in school. While there is currently no way to prevent down syndrome, mothers can take steps before and during pregnancy to have a healthy pregnancy. Steps include taking a daily multivitamin with folic acid (400 micrograms), not smoking, and not drinking alcohol during pregnancy.



INFORMATION WEBSITES
http://www.ndss.org/
http://downsyndromeinfo.org/



PICTURES OF CHILDREN WITH DOWN'S SYNDROME

 

 

 

Kreedinse and I in personal finace

Kreedinse swinging on the tire swing

My baby girl, I named her Kreedinse

My first day as a parent

• In the "If I Became a Teen Parent" assignment, did the response you received from your parent/guardian surprise you? Discuss.

       
          Yes it did surpirse me a lot because I thought she always would be very dissapointed in me and would kicked me out but its nice to know I would have her surport

• What responses to the flour baby project surprised you? (i.e. What friends, family, or strangers said or how they acted)

         Someone thought it was a actual real baby which surprised me majorly because it doesn't even look close to real.

• In what ways should we have started this project differently? (i.e. If we had it to do over again, how would you have started the project?)

         I think we started the project just fine, I'm enjoying it just the way it is

• What was the most surprising about the "Baby Costs" project?

         How much everything cost. And how when you have a child all your money goes to the baby and not for yourself anymore