Although I am not an avid Eastenders watcher I saw the new baby's birth tonight.  I could tell there was something wrong from the reaction of the nurse and have looked for the storyline.

Baby Janet has Downs Syndrome.  I work with young people with special needs and I am crossing fingers that they make the most of this storyline and do the subject proud.  It will be brilliant to see an actor with Downs Syndrome in future storylines.

oh was this Billy and wotsits baby?

haven't seen it for ages but they are the only couple I can think of who are/is pregnant?

Yeah it is Billy's baby.   I also hope that they deal with it in the positive, there are many Downs Syndrome people around who lead pretty normal lives.

Honey doesnt want to know the baby!

I know she goes into Post natal depression and wont have anything to do with janet.
But like you I hope she is a big part of the program.
I tried to tell my kids what downs syndrome was, after they asked, but I came to a dead end.
I am going to do some reasearch or my 11 year old is as he said he wanted to  and explain it then. I know what/how downs kids are, but explaining it to children is another thing
Lea.

I have an awful feeling that eastenders is going to find this a difficult one to carry through. Its going to be hard to find a toddler with down syndrome whose mum is going to want their child on tv and the child is ok to do it. (my sister with downs was always ill during her first few years and would have hardly been fit enough for much filming.  I have an awful feeling that they will probably end the story with either honey and billy leaving or the baby dying.

lucyandmeg

Sorry that your sister was always ill but as I said on my other post the spectrum of Down's is vast and there are many children who, particulalry at a young age, aren't too different from their peers.  I too sincerely hope that they handle it with sensitivity but also with realism.

Andi

The baby tonight didnt look as if anything was wrong with her. but I have never come across mild downs. or new born downs.
So maybe Janet has mild downs syndrome that is not as noticible as the more severe one that you notice by the looks???(I dont know if there is such a thing?)
Lea.

The baby is a 4 month old that does have Down's -read an article about it. Apparently the actress who plays Honey visited families with Down's children to learn more. I believe it isn't as obvious in looks in newborns as in older children.

Down's Syndrome is a chromosome abnormality. Down's children can have a variety of learning and physical difficulites but the spectrum of these difficulties is vast and varies from mild to severe.

Don't know if you can put that in simpler terms for your son Lea but that's it in a nutshell.

Andi

Down's is not neccesarily obvious in new borns.  Signs to look for would be the life lines on the palms and the size of the tongue.  Both of these are early indicators.  Flat bridging of the nose which also affects the shape of the eyes isn't easy to see at such a young age.

Hope that helps

Andi

Thanks marianne and Andi. explains alot.
lea.

Hi

When i was expecting my son the blood test came back that there was a high risk that he had downs syndrome. I had a detailed scan that didnt show anything so had to wait until he  was born.

Naturally the first thing I asked when he came out and the midwife wasnt able to tell me. She said it isnt always obvious at first. The Dr who checked him later said he was ok but a friend I met in the hospital was told it could sometimes take weeks to tell and they had to run some tests to be sure.

Wendy

The test can be done in 24 hours.   Generally the midwife knows with experience but they are not allowed to say anything at all. Even with less affected babies there are key things that are visually present. A curly pinkie toe is one, heart murmours or heart noise is another very common one.

My best freind little girl was born with Trisomy 18 ( Edwards Syndrome) another chromosome defect, 2nd most common after Trisomy 21 ( Down syndrome) but % wise more fatal.

They just need a blood test to show the extra chromosome present, the degree of it is something that takes a bit more time.

Andi, I have two children born with one palmer crease on both hands, my eldest who's 19 nearly had all the tests done and she doesn't have downs, my last child who is 3 also has them and no tests were done, he also doesn't have downs. Although Andi was not saying that all children with these creases have downs, I wanted people to know that some children are born with these lines are perfectly healthy.

Lynn

Nobody noticed that my sister was downs until a few weeks after she was born. She doesn't really have the classic looks of a downs child, yet is classed as severe. Most of the downs children i know whether mild or severe, have health problems a lot during childhood, whether it be minor things like colds and viruses or heart problems etc.

My son also has the palm crease on one hand and we were told when he was a baby that it could be an indicator but he too does not have Downs Syndrome .

There is a Downs Syndrome actor who lives in our town who played a leading role in the Inspector Frost series and has had other roles as well.

Here is a pretty good page for explaining what Down Syndrome is (Wikipedia, safe for kids) Although it was a little disappointing to see they didn't use a real karyotype to illustrate. I did find some nice chromosomes here. I was a cytogeneticist (someone who looks for chromosomal abnormalities like this) for a long time so if you want to ask any questions about how the test is done you can PM me.

Hi Lynn

Sorry, yes, it is just a potential indicator - as is the tongue.

We are very lucky.  Our fifteen year old daughter has no associated physical health problems and manages her own personal routine etc exceptionally well.  As the youngest of four we have always treated her the same as the rest of the children and I firmly believe that her development has progressed beyond expectations because of that.  When she was 13 months old a portage worker told me that early education was vital to long term development so we did everything we could to help her to achieve her potential (as we did with all of our children) and the results are evident.  Far from being 'different' she has the same teenage strops her elder sister has, loves make-up, clothes and doing her hair etc the only difference being that she does these things with us and our large family rather than friends.  And she can argue her point very well when she needs to

I hope that Eastenders reflect the positives as it may dispell the 'aren't they loving' school of thought that still exists today.  I don't mean that in a derogatory way, it's just such a lot of people think that people with Down's are capable of little else.

Andi

Hi Andi,
I do hope they show the very positive side of special needs as they do vary a lot.
The children brought up as normal as possible, make the better children and adults.
My words "socially exceptable"
As Honey finds it hards to except her baby this should be a warning to mom's to be
if you know, you can't except a special needs baby have the tests done
Please do not reject it at birth and place it in care as many do.
The parents of special needs baby's and child and even worse adults, are under valued.
It is a life time of patience and lots of love and understanding. Not easy at times.
Most of the general public do not understand that special needs people have feeling
just like us and are hurt just the same, I remember once being asked in the hospital as they injected my daughter. Can she feel itI held my anger and replied would you

Friends of mine's daughter's first baby has Down's Syndrome They are fortunately in a position of knowing that people with Learning Disabilities are just the same as everyone else with their needs & emotions & she wasn't cosseted, but brought up as a child without any disability(but her special needs were obviously looked after)

She can be naughty just like any otther child & she can be good too, they have younger children now & had all the tests done before the children were born-not for termination if they had Down's Syndrome but to know in advance, as it happens the two later children do not have DS.

People & children with Learning/Physical Disabilities should be treated no differently that people/children without(with any special needs catered for of course)

I do hope that like in the Frost story dealing with two adults with learning disabilities this is dealt with with empathy in EE & not just a fleeting appearance now & then or worse written out in a typical soap opera ending

Wasn't there a similar storyline in Brookside ?

Found on the net, do not know where it originated:

3 September 2006
STIR IN THE HONEY
EXCLUSIVE EASTENDERS' EMMA ON TRAGIC BABY SHOCK THAT WILL BRING HEARTACHE TO
THE QUEEN VIC BARMAID
By Sarah Arnold

SHE only arrived in Albert Square nine months ago - but actress Emma Barton
is about to cause a stir with a controversial storyline that is one of the
most challenging in the soap's history.
This week viewers will see Queen Vic landlady Peggy arrange a surprise
wedding for barmaid Honey and video store worker Billy - who have twice tried
to
tie the knot and failed.
At the very moment the vicar pronounces the pair husband and wife, Honey
goes into labour - and when their daughter is born they discover she has Down's
syndrome.
Honey is so devastated she initially rejects the baby. Emma, 28, says: "The
storyline is a huge responsibility. I hope my performance will make a
difference and inform people.
"I spoke to the parents of several children with Down's syndrome and all of
their experiences are reflected in how Honey reacts.
"One family I met, who have a two-yearold son with Down's syndrome, told me
that when they took him to the swimming pool people just stopped and stared.

"His parents told me they wanted to shout: 'Yes, our son has Down's syndrome
and yes we are here for a swim so stop staring'.

Another family was sent a sympathy card when they told family and friends
their new son had Down's syndrome.

"They all told me that after their initial devastation there was a moment
when they realised they loved their children unconditionally.

"For one it was when their child had to have a heart operation at six months
old - you realise this is a little person and you have got to fight for this
baby. I was so moved by what I heard."

Billy and Honey's baby initially named Janet, but renamed Petal, is played
by four-month-old Grace who has Down's syndrome.

"She is beautiful and holding her I felt quite a natural," says Emma.

"On a few days I felt a little bit broody - and I enjoyed cuddling her
between shoots. I like being her on-screen mummy, but come five o'clock I knew
she
had to go back to her own mum.

"I'm too busy for children of my own at the moment - I'm quite happy looking
after myself."

In real life Emma split with her husband last year and although she now has
a new partner she is not sure what the future holds.

"I'm in a really happy place in my life right now and I feel very fortunate.
Who knows if I will marry again? You never know what life has to bring."

With the demands of her new role Emma hasn't had much time to catch her
breath.

But she is certainly not complaining - acting in EastEnders really is a
dream come true for the actress from Hampshire.

"I knew I wanted to be an actress from the age of three," she says. But work
was not always easy to come by.

Emma reveals that as a jobbing actress she took temping jobs as she
struggled to pay the bills. "I would take on shop work to help to keep my head
above
water. The worst was selling shoes. I had to go near people's feet - not very
attractive.

"I'll never forget I had to put a pair of sandals on one lady who had the
worst in-growing toenails - and I was just about to go for my lunch. I also
worked as a waitress and in bars... but I knew my heart lay with acting."

Then along came her first TV job. "I was a scientist's assistant called
Sandy in an advert for sanitary products. I had to wear a white coat - it was
all
very camp.

"I had a Seventies-style Farah Fawcett wig and had to put this product in a
test tube of blue water.

"It was my first flush of fame - but one I would rather forget. My face was
in loads of magazines and when I went for castings for a long time afterwards
people would say: 'Oh you're the girl...' and break off. I was 22 and it
paid the bills. It could have been worse - it could have been for pile cream!"

Not a very glamorous role, but it seems everything is now coming up roses
for Emma as a central character in one of the country's top soaps.

In fact Emma would love her character to become legendary like some of the
other Walford matriachs including feisty Angie Watts, Peggy Mitchell or
Pauline Fowler.

She jokes: "I'd love to do any of Angie's shouting scenes - if I was loved
by the public even half as much as her it would be amazing.

"And of course, I wouldn't have to wear a blue dressing gown and an Eighties
perm!

"Barbara Windsor has got more male admirers than any of us - she is what I
really call a sex symbol. "And though I don't think I'll be moving into
Pauline's home, sitting in her lounge and putting fruit in her fruit bowl - to
be
there like her for the next 22 years would be great."

Honey and Billy look set to be a lasting love match in Albert Square - but
other than Perry Fenwick, who plays Billy, are there any other cast members
she'd like to do a love scene with?

"Goodness, I don't know. Obviously, someone like Brad Pitt but if it had to
be someone on set...maybe Cliff Parisi (who plays Minty) as he makes me laugh
so much.

"I definitely wouldn't want to do a love scene with Jim Branning - I don't
think I would be his type. "But that's not likely to happen. At the moment
Honey only has eyes for Billy."

And, of course, gorgeous new baby Petal.