Congenital Anomalies
Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds - Orusin Sweet Marden
image by: World Birth Defects Day - Philippines
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A Womb Without a View
Here’s something to freak out expectant parents: Over 2 percent of all American pregnancies are complicated by serious birth defects, and more than 0.5 percent of all fetuses have either a missing or an extra chromosome—a condition that leads to problems like Down or Edwards syndrome. Birth defects are a leading cause of infant mortality in the country, and most problems occur in pregnancies without any obvious risk factors. (For example, most babies with Down syndrome are born to women under 35 years of age.) There are ways to screen fetuses for birth defects like these, but due to a lack of clear guidance from caregivers or policymakers, parents may not find out about them until it’s too…
Resources
Why we don’t know what causes most birth defects
The development of a baby, from the time of fertilisation through to the moment of birth, is an incredibly complex journey. Most of the time the result is a perfect new baby. However, in about 3% of babies mistakes happen and a birth defect occurs.
One virus causes most birth defects — most don’t know it exists
Once the baby is born, CMV can manifest in all sorts of different ways: deafness, blindness, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, epilepsy, lung disease, autism and even death. Some of these symptoms can take years to appear and are never traced back to congenital CMV. This one virus causes more birth defects and disabilities in children than any other infectious disease. Yet somehow 91% of Americans don’t even know it exists.
Severe birth defects are not as lethal as docs once said
Parents of newborns with rare genetic conditions used to hear the grim words that the severe birth defects were “incompatible with life.” Support groups and social media showing the exceptions have changed the landscape. So has mounting research suggesting that not all such babies are doomed to die.
The Challenges After Surviving a Childhood Disease
Some novel programs are addressing a growing gap in health care: helping the millions of survivors of serious childhood diseases find treatment when they grow up. Thanks to medical advances, there are a growing number of survivors of childhood cancers as well as patients living longer with diseases like cystic fibrosis and spina bifida.
After 60 years, scientists uncover how thalidomide produced birth defects
Building on years of previous research, the researchers found that thalidomide acts by promoting the degradation of an unexpectedly wide range of transcription factors – cell proteins that help switch genes on or off – including one called SALL4. The result is the complete removal of SALL4 from cells.
Air Pollution Tied to Birth Defects
Exposure in the first two months of pregnancy to air pollution from traffic sharply increases the risk for birth defects, a new study has found.
Air Pollution, Birth Defects, and the Risk in China (and Beyond)
It turns out that several scientists, both inside and outside China, have been studying that question in recent years–and their answer is yes. That doesn’t mean that every woman giving birth in a polluted environment, or every child born, will experience lasting health problems, but the trend lines across a population are clear.
Fertility treatments linked to higher risk of birth defects
Babies conceived using commonly available fertility treatments are on average almost 50% more likely to have a birth defect than those conceived naturally, according to the most comprehensive study of its kind yet, by a team from the University of Adelaide. Those conceived using in vitro fertilisation (IVF) are at a 25% higher risk of having a congenital anomaly, the study found.
For Gideon, Infection With a Common Virus Caused Rare Birth Defects
. Blood work indicated newborn Gideon was infected with a virus Muldoon had never heard of: Cytomegalovirus or CMV – a virus that can cause severe birth defects.
Most supplements are useless. There’s one big exception when it comes to women.
There’s one really, really helpful supplement that women of childbearing age should consider taking: folic acid. Unfortunately, less than half of us bother to use it despite years of public information campaigns. In numerous systematic reviews, researchers have found dramatic reductions in terrible birth defects when women take folic acid, a type of B vitamin, just before and during the first few months of pregnancy.
This Simple Blood Test Reveals Birth Defects - And the Future of Pregnancy
The cell-free fetal DNA test will eventually be able to look for more than just the big three chromosomal disorders. In fact, Verinata just announced that it will offer a screen for Turner and Klinefelter syndromes along with other sex chromosome disorders.
To Mend a Birth Defect, Surgeons Operate on the Patient Within the Patient
The patient, still inside his mother’s womb, came into focus on flat screens in a darkened operating room. Fingers, toes, the soles of his feet — all exquisite, all perfectly formed. But not so his lower back. Smooth skin gave way to an opening that should not have been there, a bare oval exposing a white rim of bone and the nerves of the spinal cord.
Small Miracles
Surgeon Bill Peranteau ’97 operates on fetuses in the womb. Now he’s studying whether gene defects can be fixed prenatally, too.
Macrolide Antibiotics Early in Pregnancy Tied to Birth Defects
Taking antibiotics like erythromycin, clarithromycin or azithromycin early in the course of pregnancy may increase the risk of birth defects.
What Are the Most Common Birth Defects?
Most birth defects occur during the first trimester, typically during the second and third months (weeks 5 through 12) as this is when most of a baby’s structural development occurs.
‘The Pill’ Not Tied to Birth Defects
Some small studies have suggested that oral contraceptive use may be associated with an increased risk of birth defects, possibly by altering vitamin levels in the blood. But a large new study has found that taking oral contraceptives around the time of pregnancy did not increase the risk.
A Womb Without a View
Major birth defects come as a surprise for most parents, but they don’t have to.
Birth-Defect.org
Researching the cause and treatment of trachea-esophageal birth defects.
Genetics and Birth Defects Support Group
Inspire connects patients, families, friends and caregivers for support and inspiration.
International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research
The mission of the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research is to bring together birth defect programmes from around the world with the aim of conducting worldwide surveillance and research to prevent birth defects and to ameliorate their consequences.
National Birth Defects Prevention Network
As Parents of children with birth defects, the Parent Advisory Group is committed to helping our children and all those with birth defects live a happy and healthy life. We look for increased and continued research and surveillance that will lead to improved care and access to services and improve their quality and quantity of life.
National Birth Defects Prevention Study
One in every 33 babies in the U.S. is born with a birth defect. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and birth defects programs across the United States are working together to find the causes of birth defects.
Birth Defect Research for Children
Birth Defect Research for Children is your resource for free birth defect information, parent networking and birth defect research through the National Birth Defect Registry.
Bliss
Our vision is that every baby born premature or sick in the UK has the best chance of survival and quality of life.
Little Miss Hannah Foundation
The Little Miss Hannah Foundation’s mission is to help enhance the quality of life for young children diagnosed with rare, life-limiting, or undiagnosed complex medical needs, as well as children who have been placed in hospice or palliative care.
American Pregnancy Association
The American Pregnancy Association is a 501c(3) non-profit committed to helping each person have a healthy pregnancy and promoting the steps to help have a healthy baby.
Beyond Pesticides
The common diseases affecting the public’s health are all too well-known in the 21st century: asthma, autism and learning disabilities, birth defects and reproductive dysfunction, diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and several types of cancer. Their connection to pesticide exposure continues to strengthen despite efforts to restrict individual chemical exposure, or mitigate chemical risks, using risk assessment-based policy.
CDC
About one in every 33 babies is born with a birth defect. Not all birth defects can be prevented. But a woman can take steps to increase her own chance of having a baby with the best health possible.
Cleveland Clinic
A birth defect is a significant abnormality of appearance, structure, or function that is present at birth. Birth defects are common. Two percent to three percent of live-born infants show one or more significant defects at birth. This number increases to approximately five percent by 1 year of age due to the discovery of defects that were not obvious at birth.
KidsHealth
Like most expectant parents, you probably alternate between fantasies about a healthy baby and worries that your baby will have a health problem. Or perhaps you've been told through prenatal screening that your baby might be born with a birth defect.
Love That Max
A blog about kids with special needs who kick butt.
March of Dimes
As you get older, there’s a greater chance of having a baby with certain chromosomal conditions, like Down syndrome. For example, at age 35, your chances of having a baby with a chromosomal condition are 1 in 192. At age 40, your chances are 1 in 66.
MedicineNet
Researchers have identified thousands of different birth defects. Currently, birth defects are the leading cause of death for infants during the first year of life.
MedlinePlus
Birth defects can vary from mild to severe. Some result from exposures to medicines or chemicals. For example, alcohol abuse can cause fetal alcohol syndrome. Infections during pregnancy can also result in birth defects. For most birth defects, the cause is unknown.
National Human Genome Research Institute
Overview and explanation of genetic tesing, legislation and resources.
ScienceDaily
Birth defects news, article, videos and updates.
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