When the desired pregnancy finally comes,it is a real treat. After waiting for two stripes on the test, the future parents feel inspired and happy, but over time they also feel certain fears. In particular, one of them are concerns about the health of the child.
Many future parents often ask the question of why children with Down syndrome can be born? And are there ways to prevent this pathology?
Let's figure out who they are - "sunny" children.
Congenital syndrome
First of all, you need to understand that anycongenital syndrome, including also Down syndrome, is not a disease, and therefore its treatment is impossible. A syndrome is an aggregate number of a number of symptoms, which are caused by various pathological changes in the body. A large number of congenital syndromes are hereditary, but Down syndrome stands out from this list, being an exception. It got its name thanks to the doctor who first described it in 1866 (John Langdon Down). How many chromosomes do you have? About this below.
What caused?
This syndrome is triggered by twenty.first chromosome. A person normally contains twenty-three pairs of chromosomes, but in some cases a malfunction occurs, and instead of the twenty-first pair, three chromosomes appear. That very extra chromosome, that is, forty-seven, is the cause of this pathology. This fact was established only in 1959 by the scientist Jérôme Lege.
People with Down syndrome are called "sunny children."Who are they, interesting to many. A genetic abnormality, consisting in the presence of an extra chromosome, distinguishes them from others. The term “sunny” was fixed for such children not without reason, since they are especially cheerful, they are very affectionate and at the same time obedient. But at the same time, they have a certain degree of developmental delay in the mental and physical plane. Their level of IQ ranges from twenty to seventy-four points, while the majority of healthy adults have from ninety to one hundred and ten. Why are healthy parents born children down?
Causes of birth of children with Down syndrome
In the world for seven hundred or eight hundred children have onea child with Down syndrome. Babies with such a diagnosis are often rejected at the maternity hospital; worldwide, the number of such “refusers” is eighty-five percent. It is worth noting that in some countries it is not accepted to abandon mentally retarded children, including Down syndrome. So, in Scandinavia, in principle, there is no such statistics, and in Europe and the United States only five percent refuse. Interestingly, in these countries in general there is a practice of adopting "sunny" children. For example, in America, two hundred and fifty families are waiting for their turn for babies with Down syndrome.
We have already determined that the "sun" children (whothese are, we explained) there is an extra chromosome. However, when is it formed? This anomaly appears predominantly back in the egg when it is located in the ovary. Due to some factors, its chromosomes do not diverge, and when this egg cell subsequently merges with the sperm cell, an “irregular” zygote is formed, and then an embryo and fetus develop from it.
This may occur due to genetic reasons, if all the eggs / sperm or a certain number of them contain an extra chromosome from birth.
If we are talking about healthy people, for example,In the UK, one of the factors affecting genetic error is aging of the egg, which occurs along with the age of the woman. That is why special methods are developed to promote egg rejuvenation.
Characteristics of "sunny" children
In terms of appearance, children with Down syndrome have symptoms such as:
- slanted eyes;
- wide and flat language;
- wide lips;
- rounded head;
- narrow forehead;
- earlobe fused;
- little cropped little finger;
- wider and shortened feet and hands as compared with ordinary children.
How many years do people live with Down syndrome?Life expectancy is directly dependent on the severity of the manifestations of the syndrome and social conditions. If a person does not have a heart disease, severe diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, immunity disorders, then he will be able to live to 65 years.
Amazing character
"Sunny" kids have amazing andunique character. From a very early age, they are distinguished by activity, restlessness, mischief and extraordinary lovingness. They are always very funny, it is difficult to focus their attention on specific things. However, there are no complaints about their sleep and appetite. Parents can complain about something else: it is quite difficult to cope with such a child on a visit or on the street because of his activity and the constant demand for attention to himself; he is very noisy, restless. A kid with trisomy on chromosome 21 is hard to explain anything. Habitual methods of education to these children act ineffectively, they can not be scolded, because the backlash follows: either a closure occurs, or the behavior becomes even worse.
Can handle
However, you can cope with any situations.With such a child, the most important thing is to be able to select an approach to it. Unrelenting energy and mischief must be spent and used in the right direction. This requires as much as possible to play outdoor games, more often to be on the street, so that the child can run more. You do not need to control it too much, prohibit many things or find fault on trifles. Once the energy of a young child diminishes a little, he will begin to listen more to his parents and start playing developing, quiet games.
If necessary efforts are made,"Sunny" kids can even go to a simple kindergarten and school, having previously prepared for this in a specially designed correctional school. Some even get a professional education. Perhaps the most important thing is to give them a sufficient amount of warmth, love, affection and care as a child. They are very loving and deeply attached to their parents. Without this, they will not be able to survive in the literal sense of the word. How many chromosomes are in the Down, as described above.
Who can be born "sunny" children?
Scientists are still unable to find the reasonsprovoke a failure in genetics and cause the development of Down syndrome. It is believed that this occurs due to absolute randomness. A child with a similar syndrome can be born regardless of what lifestyle his parents lead, although many people are often convinced that this pathology is the result of unacceptable behavior of the mother during pregnancy. In fact, everything is different.
The probability of having a child with Down syndrome is notreduced even in the family whose members adhere to the principles of an exceptionally healthy lifestyle. That is why the answer to the question of why such children are born to normal parents is the only way: there was an accidental genetic failure. Neither the mother nor the father is to blame for the appearance of this pathology. Why children with Down syndrome are called sunny, now we know.
Probability
It is worth noting that in healthy parents, children with Down syndrome are rarely born. However, there are groups of people who are at greater risk than others.
A “sunny” child is most likely to appear:
- those parents whose age exceeds forty-five years from the father and thirty-five from the mother;
- in the presence in the family of one of the parents of children with Down syndrome;
- marriage between close relatives. Diagnosis of Down syndrome during pregnancy is carried out now constantly.
Наибольший интерес представляет тот факт, что в a healthy marriage with a completely healthy parent may have a “sunny” child due to the influence of their age. What is the reason? The fact is that up to twenty-five years a woman can give birth to a child with this deviation with a probability of 1: 1400. Up to thirty years this can happen with one woman in a thousand. At thirty-five, there is a sharp increase in this risk to 1: 350, after forty-two years - 1:60, and finally, after forty-nine years - to 1:12.
Judging by the statistics, then eightypercent of children with this pathology are born to mothers who have not reached the thirty-year mark. However, this is due to the fact that up to thirty more women give birth than after.
Increased age of laboring women
В настоящее время наблюдается тенденция increase the age of women in labor. But we must remember that even if a woman looks great at thirty-five and is actively pursuing her own career, her biological age will still work against her. Nowadays, rarely anyone looks at her age, since the female half of the population has learned to care for herself very well. It is clear that this time is the most suitable in order to lead an exciting, active, rich life, travel, build a career, start a relationship, love. However, genetic material, as well as female germ cells, is aging steadily after a woman reaches the age of twenty-five. In addition, nature provides that over time there is a decrease in the ability of women to conceive and give birth.
It is worth noting that the risk of having a child with disabilities is high not only in this category of mothers, but also in very young mothers who are not yet sixteen years old.
На развитие синдрома Дауна не оказывает влияние the sex of the child, and this pathology with the same probability can manifest itself in both girls and boys. However, modern science can predict the birth of a child with this syndrome even in the womb, when there is a choice: leave it or get rid of pregnancy, and parents can make their own decisions.
We figured out who they are - "sunny" children.
Celebrities
There is an opinion that people with Down syndrome do notcan neither learn, nor work, nor achieve success in life. But this opinion is wrong. Among the "children of the sun" a lot of talented actors, artists, athletes and teachers. Some celebrities with Down syndrome are presented below.
Pablo Pineda - Spanish actor and teacher withworld famous. Pascal Dukenn - theater and film actor. Pictures of an American artist with Down Syndrome Raymond Hu cause delight among connoisseurs. Masha Langovaya - Russian athlete, became world champion in swimming.
