Down's syndrome

For every 1,000 babies born, one will have Down’s syndrome. About 600 babies are born with Down’s syndrome every year.

What causes Down’s syndrome and who can get it?

Down’s syndrome is a genetic condition that some people are born with. Most babies who are born with Down’s syndrome have the condition because they’ve got an extra chromosome in each of the cells of their body – they have 47 chromosomes in every cell instead of the usual 46. This results in a disruption to the growth of the developing baby.

Down’s syndrome can happen to any baby and experts aren’t sure why it occurs. This condition is not something you can catch or pass on to anyone else. It occurs in families from all social, economic, cultural, religious and racial backgrounds.

What are the signs and symptoms of Down’s syndrome?

People with Down’s syndrome have certain differences in their appearance. They often have a flat-looking face with a small nose and floppy muscles and which are a bit slanted with a tiny fold of skin in the corner. People with Down’s syndrome tend to have small mouths that make their tongues seem bigger. There is also often a crease that goes across the palm of the person’s hand. People with Down’s syndrome can resemble each other but they will look more like their brother’s and sisters and their parents.

Learning difficulties are also part of Down’s syndrome. This means that if you have Down’s syndrome then you’ll have greater difficulty learning than the majority of people the same age as you.

How is it normally diagnosed and treated?

Doctors usually know that a baby has Down’s syndrome very soon the birth of the because of the baby’s appearance.

There is no treatment or cure for Down’s syndrome. However, because a lot more is now known about the condition, there’s a lot that can be done to help people with Down’s syndrome to learn and to get the best out of life.

If you have Down's syndrome you can be as fit and healthy and have no more medical problems than any other child or young person. But there are some health problems that are more common in people with Down’s syndrome. The good thing is that these can be identified and then treated as quickly as possible.