What Are The Health Problems That Affect Your Newborn Baby With Down Syndrome?

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that mainly causes physical defects and mental retardation.

It is due to the existence of an extra copy of chromosome number 21.

This disorder is mainly called as trisomy 21.

Health problems that affect your newborn baby:

• Usually, Down syndrome causes mild to moderate mental retardation or gradual mental growth.
• There is slow development in your baby’s language skills if he/she has Down syndrome.
• Babies born with Down syndrome also have a chance to develop heart problems, among those some children need surgery.
• Intestinal problems, vision trouble, thyroid disease or hearing loss also develop in a baby with Down syndrome.
• The most common physical signs of Down syndrome include: small ears or abnormally shaped ears, upward inclined eyes, broad hands with little fingers, small head, and curved fingers.
• Your baby experiences difficulty in swallowing or he may also have blockages in his intestines or stomach. In order to fix these problems, surgery is essential.
• Frequent ear infection, colds and sinus infection are the most common problems in the babies with Down syndrome.

If you already had a baby with Down syndrome, then there are greater chances of another baby to born with Down syndrome. During the pregnancy, if you are diagnosed with the chromosomal abnormalities, then you are more likely to give birth to your baby with Down syndrome.

Risks of Down syndrome depending on your age of conception:

In order to determine Down syndrome during the 1st half of the pregnancy, chronic villus sampling and amniocentesis are used. But, there is risk with these diagnosing procedures. They can cause miscarriage and also there are greater chances for your baby to born with genetic abnormalities.

Babies with Down syndrome behave in the same manner like other children. They also have the same emotions and mood conditions. They want to learn new things and want to play and enjoy the life. The thing you need to do is, provide as many chances as possible for your baby to do the things. Play with your child and try to understand him in every aspect.

Care you need to take for the newborn baby with Down syndrome:

• You need to give medications for heart problems or any other medical conditions from time to time. Visit your doctor for regular check ups of your baby.
• Physical therapy is needed for your baby to help in building the muscle tone and coordination.
• To improve the language skills, speech and occupational therapy are necessary.
• Hand-eye coordination and social skills are also helpful for your baby’s development.

Taking special care of the baby with Down syndrome makes to live his life happily.