Maternal Age: Down syndrome can occur at
any maternal age
, but the possibility increases as a woman gets older. A 25-year-old woman has a one in 1,200 chance of having a baby with Down syndrome. By 35 years of age, the risk increases to one in 350—and it becomes one in 100 by age 40.
Who is at higher risk for Down syndrome?
The chance of having a child with Down syndrome increases over time. The risk is about
1 in 1,250 for a woman who conceives at age 25
. It increases to about 1 in 100 for a woman who conceives at age 40. The risks may be higher.
Does mother’s age affect Down syndrome?
Between 1979 and 2003, the number of babies born with Down syndrome increased by about 30%. Older mothers are more likely to have a baby affected by Down syndrome than younger mothers. In other words, the
prevalence of Down syndrome increases as the mother’s age increases
.
Can a Down syndrome child look normal?
People with
Down syndrome all look the same
. There are certain physical characteristics that can occur. People with Down syndrome can have all of them or none. A person with Down syndrome will always look more like his or her close family than someone else with the condition.
What age group is most affected by Down syndrome?
Women who are
35 years or older when they become pregnant
are more likely to have a pregnancy affected by Down syndrome than women who become pregnant at a younger age. However, the majority of babies with Down syndrome are born to mothers less than 35 years old, because there are many more births among younger women.
Is Down syndrome caused by the mother or father?
One chromosome in each pair comes from your
father
, the other from your mother. Down syndrome results when abnormal cell division involving chromosome 21 occurs. These cell division abnormalities result in an extra partial or full chromosome 21.
What are signs of Down syndrome during pregnancy?
- Flat face with an upward slant to the eyes.
- Short neck.
- Abnormally shaped or small ears.
- Protruding tongue.
- Small head.
- Deep crease in the palm of the hand with relatively short fingers.
- White spots in the iris of the eye.
Can you tell if a baby has Down syndrome in an ultrasound?
An
ultrasound can detect fluid at the back of a fetus’s neck
, which sometimes indicates Down syndrome. The ultrasound test is called measurement of nuchal translucency.
Can folic acid prevent Down syndrome?
April 17, 2003 — Taking folic acid supplements before and during early pregnancy may not only help prevent neural tube defects in babies, but it may also
reduce the risk of Down syndrome
.
What gender is Down syndrome most common in?
Down syndrome appears to be more common among
boys than girls
, the study indicates. The condition is also seen more frequently in Hispanic children at birth, though the number of these children appears to level off with that of white children as they age. Black children appear less likely to have Down syndrome.
Which parent determines Down syndrome?
Scientists agree that Down syndrome can be attributed to
the father
in 5 to 10 percent of cases, and some believe that number may be as high as 20 percent.
How soon can you tell if your baby has Down syndrome?
Diagnostic tests that can identify Down syndrome include: Chorionic villus sampling (CVS). In CVS, cells are taken from the placenta and used to analyze the fetal chromosomes. This test is typically performed in the first trimester,
between 10 and 13 weeks of pregnancy
.
Do Down syndrome babies cry differently?
Just like any baby, infants who have
Down syndrome will sometimes be fussy
. The temperament of a baby with Down syndrome is not usually any different from the temperament of any other baby.
Can Down syndrome go undetected?
This means that
one or two out of 10 pregnancies with Down syndrome are missed
(classified as screen negative). With the Integrated Test, about four out of five cases of spina bifida are detected, and one out of five is missed. Nearly all cases of anencephaly are detected.
What are the behaviors of Down syndrome?
The most common mental health concerns include: general anxiety, repetitive and obsessive-compulsive behaviors;
oppositional, impulsive, and inattentive behaviors
; sleep related difficulties; depression; autism spectrum conditions; and neuropsychological problems characterized by progressive loss of cognitive skills.
Can someone with Down syndrome have normal intelligence?
I.Q. scores for people with Down syndrome vary, with the average cognitive delays being mild to moderate, not severe. In fact,
normal intelligence is possible
. If a person with Down syndrome has difficulty with hearing, it can be misinterpreted as a problem with understanding.
