Everyone knows that parenting is not an easy task and it is even more difficult for parents who have a child with Down syndrome. If you are someone who just got the news that your baby is positive of having this condition, being prepared for it emotionally, mentally and physically is a must.
Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that occurs when an extra copy of chromosome 21 is found in your baby. This will affect their cognitive skills and other behavior, which would their learning delay in almost everything in life. You will need all the support that you can get and here is why we created a list of some of the things you could do in order to cope when you find out your child has Down syndrome.
1. Awareness: In an article published by WebMD, it is important that parents should know what does it mean exactly when their child was diagnosed with Down syndrome. The first thing you need to know is that you don't have to blame yourself, especially if you are the mother, for this disorder. There is no way anyone could prevent this from happening, which means your lifestyle and diet during pregnancy has nothing to do it with it. Surround yourself with people who have experiences in handling it and join a support group, so you would feel that you are not alone in this situation.
2. Take Care Of Your Relationship: It is important that you still work on your relationship with your partner in the middle of this. Just so you know, you are still allowed to live a normal life because it will keep you from being depressed as this is the last thing you need while parenting your child with special needs.
3. Take Care Of Yourself: WebMD wrote about it as part of parenting a child with Down syndrome because things would be harder if you get burned out.
Remember these three simple things when parenting a child with Down syndrome and you won't have to worry about it at all.
