The Face of Down Syndrome Physical Characteristics

If a child has 6 to 10 of the physical traits, the doctor can tentatively diagnose Down syndrome with some degree of certainty. The eyes of a baby with Down syndrome are slanted upward and outward with a fold of skin on the inner side of the eye. The eye slit itself is very short and narrow and along the edge of the iris, there are small white patches. The head of a baby with Down syndrome is smaller than average with the soft spots (fontanels) larger than average because the baby is growing more slowly. The face itself has a flat appearance with a small-depressed nose. The ears are smaller and lower set and the neck appears slightly short with loose folds of skin at the back and sides. The baby with Down syndrome has a small mouth with small thin lips. Because the inside of the mouth is smaller, the baby/person with Down syndrome is often seen sticking out their tongue. This is the result of a physical impairment and not a mental impairment. The smallness of the mouth can also lead to breathing problems and poor development of the sinuses. The protruding tongue can cause the infant to have problems with nursing and getting a tight seal on the nipple.

In relation to the rest of the body, the legs and arms are shorter. The hands are broad and flat with short fingers. Interestingly, the little finger always curves inward and there is only one single crease across the inside of the palm of the hand. Similar to the hands, the feet are broad with short toes and there is a large space between the big toe and the second toe on both feet.

Generally, all babies with Down syndrome have hypotonia, which is poor muscle tone in all muscle groups along with hyperflexibility, which is loose-jointedness in nearly all joints. The poor muscle tone can lead to a weak sucking reflex and feeding problems due to that condition. Later on, there can be problems eating solid food because of the weak muscle tone as well. There can be delays with motor development as well when it comes to crawling, walking, and sitting up and of course problems with speech. Physical therapy should begin very soon after birth in an effort to try to combat these problems. In addition, these babies have weaker reflexes and a weak cry.

People with Down syndrome do posses some unique characteristics that are common and specific among people with the condition. There are some instances where babies are born with the physical traits and do not have Down syndrome however, in the majority of cases the physical traits are the first clue for the doctor to consider Down syndrome in a baby where it was not suspected during pregnancy.

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