CDC estimates that birth defects occur in about 1 in every 33 infants born in the Usa each twelvemonth.1

Nativity defects tin can occur during any pregnancy, simply some factors increase the risk for nascence defects. The post-obit situations place pregnant women at higher risk of having a child with a birth defect:2

  • Lack of folic acrid. Women who are meaning or who could become significant should take 400 micrograms of folic acid every day to prevent neural tube defects (NTDs). However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only two out of every 5 women of childbearing age take folic acrid every day.iii
  • Drinking alcohol.Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can lead to a variety of bug, including nativity defects. For example, using alcohol tin pb to fetal booze syndrome, which is characterized by intellectual or developmental disability (IDD), physical challenges, and behavioral issues. There is no safe level of booze consumption during pregnancy.4
  • Smoking cigarettes. Smoking cigarettes during pregnancy can lead to a diversity of problems, including lung bug such as asthma. Evidence too strongly suggests that certain nativity defects, such every bit bug with the heart and intestines, are acquired by smoking during pregnancy.5
  • Using drugs. Using drugs during pregnancy can increment the risk of various birth defects, including IDDs and behavioral problems, as well equally pregnancy loss and stillbirth.6
  • Medication utilise. Sure medications are known to cause birth defects if taken during pregnancy. Thalidomide, which is currently used to treat certain cancers and other serious conditions, was one time sold as a handling for morn sickness until it was discovered that it caused severe birth defects. Infants whose mothers took thalidomide had a range of structural and functional problems, including misshapen ears and shortened limbs. Although the thalidomide state of affairs led to much stricter controls on drugs used during pregnancy, the bulk of medications currently used by pregnant women have not been tested for safety or efficacy in pregnant women. Addressing this issue is the main focus of NICHD's Obstetric-Fetal Pharmacology Inquiry Units Network. Women who are meaning or who might go pregnant should discuss all medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, and supplements they take with their wellness care providers.7
  • Infections. Women who get certain infections during pregnancy are at college risk for having a child with nascency defects. Some of the more common infections that are linked to birth defects are cytomegalovirus, a common virus that spreads through body fluids and usually causes no symptoms in healthy people, and toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that spreads through contact with cat carrion, raw meat, and contaminated food and h2o. Zika virus infection is linked to microcephaly in newborn babies—a condition in which the encephalon and skull are smaller than normal. The Pregnancy topic has more data on infections that can cause birth defects and other problems in newborns and on ways to forestall them during pregnancy, and CDC provides tips for preventing infections before and during pregnancy.
  • Obesity or uncontrolled diabetes. NICHD enquiry found that the risk of newborn heart defects and neural tube defects increased with maternal obesity. Additional NICHD research suggest that children of obese parents may be at risk for developmental delays. Obesity is also associated with other health problems and long-term health issues. Poorly controlled blood sugar places women at college hazard of having a infant who is too large, has breathing problems, or has other poor health outcomes. These outcomes are likely regardless of whether the woman had diabetes earlier she got pregnant (type 1 or 2 diabetes) or whether she developed diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes).8
  • Exposure to things in the environment. Pregnant women who breathe in, eat, drink, or get things into their bodies in other ways may likewise exist at increased risk of birth defects. For case, pregnant women who are exposed to high levels of radiation, such as cancer treatments, are at college run a risk for nascency defects in their infants.9 Treatment or breathing in certain chemicals can also increase the risk of birth defects.10

Citations

Open up Citations

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). Update on overall prevalence of major birth defects—Atlanta, Georgia, 1978–2005. MMWR Weekly Written report, 57(1), ane–5. Retrieved February 7, 2017, from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5701a2.htm
  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Make a PACT for prevention. Commit to healthy choices to assist prevent birth defects. Retrieved Feb seven, 2017, from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/prevention.html
  3. Centers for Disease Command and Prevention. (2008). Utilize of supplements containing folic acrid among women of childbearing age—The states, 2007. MMWR Weekly Written report, 57(1), five–eight. Retrieved Feb 7, 2017, from http://world wide web.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5701a3.htm
  4. Tan, C. H., Denny, C. H., Cheal, N. E., Sniezek, J. E., Kanny, D. Alcohol use and binge drinking among women of childbearing age—United States, 2011–2013. (2015). MMWR Weekly Report, 64(37), 1042–1046. Retrieved Feb 7, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6437a3.htm
  5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Smoking and pregnancy. Retrieved February vii, 2017, from http://www.cdc.gov/features/pregnantdontsmoke/pregnantdontsmoke.pdf (PDF 249 KB)
  6. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2013). FAQ: Tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and pregnancy. Retrieved July 26, 2017, from https://www.acog.org/~/media/For%20Patients/faq170.pdf (PDF 75.3 KB)
  7. Centers for Illness Control and Prevention. (2016). Medication and pregnancy. Retrieved February 7, 2017, from https://world wide web.cdc.gov/pregnancy/meds/alphabetize.html
  8. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). 2011 National diabetes fact sail. Retrieved February 7, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/pdf/ndfs_2011.pdf (PDF ii.7 MB)
  9. Williams, P. M., & Fletcher, South. (2010). Health furnishings of prenatal radiation exposure. American Family Physician, 82(5), 488–493. Retrieved April 21, 2017, from http://www.aafp.org/afp/2010/0901/p488.html
  10. American Higher of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2013; reaffirmed 2016). Commission Opinion 575: Exposure to toxic ecology agents. Retrieved July 26, 2017, from https://world wide web.acog.org/Resources-And-Publications/Committee-Opinions/Committee-on-Health-Intendance-for-Underserved-Women/Exposure-to-Toxic-Ecology-Agents

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