Introduction

Edwards' syndrome, also known as trisomy 18, is a serious genetic condition caused by an additional copy of chromosome 18 in some or all of the cells in the body.

Each cell normally contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, which carry the genes you inherit from your parents, but a baby with Edwards' syndrome has three copies of chromosome number 18, instead of two.

This disrupts the baby's normal development and, in many cases, causes them to be miscarried or stillborn.

Babies with Edwards' syndrome will have grown slowly in the womb and will have a low birthweight, along with a number of other serious medical problems. Of those that survive to birth, around half will die within two weeks and only around one in every five will live at least three months.

Around one in every 12 babies born with Edwards' syndrome survive beyond one year, and they will live with severe physical and mental disabilities. Some children do survive to early adulthood, but this is very rare.

Edwards' syndrome affects around one in 3,000 to 6,000 live births.

Content supplied by the NHS Website

Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 7 Jul 2016