Why am I blogging for DS?

As you can see there is now a 31 for 21 button on my website...

Why am I doing this?

Well, as I mentioned before, back in July one of my best friends had her second little girl, O, and was told the next morning that she had Down Syndrome. To say it was a shock to all of us, is an understatement and I am truly impressed with how well W has dealt with it thus far.

BUT -- I was shocked and dismayed to find that I knew next to nothing about Down Syndrome (also known as Trisomy 21 or T21). So for the month of October, I will be doing my best to also post little facts about DS. It is sad that so many people, myself included, were totally ignorant about this genetic condition. Since I only know information that I have been able to read, most of my information will be "duh" stuff to those who live with it every day. To those people, i am sorry, but for those, like me, who are totally uneducated, it will hopefully be helpful. So, since today is the 2nd of October, here are two pieces of info....

#1-- Down syndrome occurs in about 1 out of every 800 births worldwide. In the United States each year, about 1,600 babies are born with this condition.

#2 -- Down syndrome results when a person inherits all or part of an extra copy of chromosome 21. This can occur in a variety of ways, the causes of which are unknown. The most common chromosomal abnormality that produces Down syndrome (accounting for about 95 percent of all cases) is Trisomy 21, a defect in which an extra, third copy of chromosome 21 is present in every cell in the body. The risk of Trisomy 21 is directly related to the age of the mother. The number of Down syndrome births is relatively low for 18-year-old mothers—about 1 in 2,100 births. In the later childbearing years the risk increases significantly—from 1 in 1,000 births for 30-year-old women to 1 in 100 births for 40-year-old women