Would you know if your baby had downs syndrome?

[mummytopebs]

My dd 4 months is a gorgeous happy healthy little girl. I took her to the drop in centre over the weekend because she had been sick for a few days, the on call doctor said was just a virus. However he was staring at her face and feeling her head and then he said to me has dd been diagnosed with a syndrome? I said no and he said has anyone ever said anything about downs syndrome? I said no and he just said ok then and that was it. I was to shocked to say anything really. Surely there would be some tell tale sign in a 4 month old that a gp or health visitor would have picked up on?

What a shock for you... have you seen anyone else about it?

Not necessarily. I have a friend whose DD wasn't diagnosed until about 6 weeks, when her mother was concerned about low muscle tone. But it would be unusual not to be picked up by 4 months AFAIK. If your GP was just looking at her face, and you've never had any concerns yourself, then I would try not to worry. But if you are concerned now then I think you should go back and ask him to elaborate.

I do know of someone who's DS was only diagnosed though a blood test at 2 months old. I would have thought that by 4 months though some other markers would have shown up. The facial characteristics are not always obvious in a newborn. I don't think delayed diagnosis are very common but if you are worried you could always follow it up with your GP or HV.

I would have thought he'd have taken it further if he thought she has DS.

You probably need peace of mind now though, I'd go back and ask questions.

were you ested when pg?

my sons friend has ds,but going on facial features alone,you'd never know for sure

I would suggest that you go to your own GP and explain what happened and ask for their advice. I doubt that your baby has DS and it has been totally missed but can see that you would be worried and have a niggling feeling at the back of your mind after today

My friends son was tested for DS shortly after birth, as it was suspected on the basis of his appearance, he tested negative and is now 3yo and 'normal'. Realise this is not exactly the same situation though.

No i wasent tested when pregnant as even if a baby had tested positive for downs i would have kept it.

I have looked at some pictures of ds babies on internet and i agree that some you could not tell. She does have big eyes and a flat nose at the top and quite a large tongue but i would never have associated it with ds. I am not overly concerned just wanted some opinions really on wether it would have been detected by now if she was. What exactly is muscle tone as the net keeps mentiong that? The only other thing is she seems to have her neck bent a lot of the time unless you shout her name then she will put her head up

It was five years ago, but I think my friend's DD just seemed unusually floppy a lot of the time (she was their fourth child so the mother was used to babies, which was why she thought things weren't quite right).

Did the doctor examine her hands? A single crease across the palm is one indicator.