{DS Tidbit}

31 for 21 blog challenge day 10
What is Down syndrome?

Down syndrome is a chromosomal disorder caused by an error in cell division that results in an extra 21st chromosome.

What causes Down Syndrome?

Down syndrome occurs because of an abnormality characterized by an extra copy of genetic material on all or part of the 21st chromosome. Every cell in the body contains genes that are grouped along chromosomes in the cell's nucleus or center. There are normally 46 chromosomes in each cell, 23 inherited from your mother and 23 from your father. When some or all of a person's cells have an extra full or partial copy of chromosome 21, the result is Down syndrome.

The most common form of Down syndrome is known as Trisomy 21, a condition where individuals have 47 chromosomes in each cell instead of 46. This is caused by an error in cell division called nondisjunction, which leaves a sperm or egg cell with an extra copy of chromosome 21 before or at conception. Trisomy 21 accounts for 95% of Down syndrome cases, with 88% originating from nondisjunction of the mother's egg cell.

The remaining 5% of Down syndrome cases are due to conditions called mosaicism and translocation. Mosaic Down syndrome results when some cells in the body are normal while others have Trisomy 21. Robertsonian translocation occurs when part of chromosome 21 breaks off during cell division and attaches to another chromosome (usually chromosome 14). The presence of this extra part of chromosome 21 causes some Down syndrome characteristics. Although a person with a translocation may appear physically normal, he or she has a greater risk of producing a child with an extra 21st chromosome.

When Finn was born the first thing I questioned, was:  Did he get Down syndrome because of something I did or didn't do?  I immediately thought:  I ate like crap sometimes.  I could have eaten better.  I did too much.  I should have taken it easy.  I skipped on some of my pre-natal pills.  Sometimes I forgot.  I even had the thought that I yelled at my kids alot.  And somehow I blamed myself for the loud environment that I caused and thought it to be symptomatic.  I learned that the answer was no.  There was nothing that Kurt or I did. 

Without doing the test, there is no way to tell that your child has Down syndrome.  Even ultrasounds don't pick up on the extra chromosome.  85% of children born with Down Syndrome are diagnosed after delivery.  This extra chromosome takes it's form at the time of conception.  So before I even knew I was pregnant, Finn's DNA was set up as such that he would have Down syndrome.  There is nothing that I could have done, nor my Dr., to prevent this from happening.  This was just the way that God intended him to be.