Down syndrome is one of the common chromosomal abnormalities in the world. It was discovered by John Langdon Down in 1866 after seeing the physical appearances of some mental retardation children. There are many features of this genetic disorder.

Basically, we can easily know the Down syndrome child via their characteristics. They almost look alike. This syndrome was described as “Mongoloids” before this. Yet, this is an insult to the Mongolians. Thus, the “Mongoloids” was never used again in scientific dictionary since 1960s.

One of the obvious characteristics is the mental retardation. However, it depends to the serious of the symptoms. Many of them cannot speak well. It is hard for them to learn. They need extra time to learn the things such as speaking, walking, crawling, and dressing. There are some school that specifically designed for the Down syndrome child now. You can just join the group with some simple clicks online.

Another common symptom is the developmental deficiency. The child cannot grow normally. We can easily notice them with the small ears, head and eyes. Sometimes, we can see the upturned nose and flat face with them too. The malformations will cause some medical problems too. The medical treatment can help to reduce some of the symptoms effectively.

Besides, some of the Down syndrome has the symptom of hypogonadism. Basically, this only happen on the males. Thus, the males are usually infertile. In contrast, the females’ menarche occurs at normal time. The pregnancy is possible for the females.

Furthermore, there are many others disease and conditions that children with this birth defect may encounter. Usually, the Down syndrome babies are born with heart problems. They are easy to get cancer than the normal children. Some of them are born with hearing impairment and poor vision too.

There are many hypotheses explaining the causes of Down syndrome. There is an extra chromosome 21 for the Down syndrome baby. This is because of the non-disjunction occurred during the sperm or ovum formation. Yet, it is related to the parents’ age too. The increase of parental age will increase the risk of having a Down syndrome child. Many studies show that parents who are older than 35 years old are in risk of having the child with this disease.

Finally, raising a Down syndrome child is difficult. And I believe your love to the baby will overcome everything. Many parents of Down syndrome children would not wish to change a thing for bringing up their unique child even though they are given choice. For them, this is the great things to have such children.

You may find out more about Down syndrome in Down Syndrome review and Down Syndrome Features.