Birth Defects
- her ethereality
- Jan 25, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 3, 2021
We're back with another awareness topic! One of my personal favorites of course.
Let's dive right into it x
Birth defects. What are birth defects? Well, It is a Congenital Disorder (congenital anomaly) an often-inheritable medical condition that occurs at or before birth. In some cases it may be physical while in others it may be a biochemical abnormality. Birth defects are most likely to occur within the first 3 months of pregnancy. Babies may have complications with how their organs and body parts form, or even how they work.
There are more than 4,000 different kinds of birth defects, some are minor and need no treatment while others are more severe that cause disabilities and require medical or surgical treatment.
Some birth defects may be structural problems that can be easy to see such as a cleft lip or neural tube defects. Other defects such as heart disease are found using special tests. Birth defects affect an individual based on the organ or part of the body it involved, this will also tell us how severe the condition is.
Fun fact: one out of every 33 babies in the United States is born with a birth defect. That would mean 120,000 babies would be affected each year.
What causes birth defects?
In most cases the main cause remains unknown. Researchers believe the condition is caused by a variety of factors such as Genetics (fragile X syndrome, a gene or part of the gene might be missing), Lack of nutrients (folic acid, during pregnancy), Exposures to toxic substances (alcohol etc), and Chromosomal problems (Turner syndrome x Down syndrome - the child has an extra chromosome).
Infection, radiation and exposure to drugs during pregnancy may also affect the baby.
What are 3 common birth defects?
Heart defects:
Congenital heart defects (CHD): a defect that affects different parts/functions of the heart.
Congenital heart defects occur in about 1 in 110 births.
Causes:
Genetic Abnormalities
Side effects from different drugs
Environmental factors
Mistakes during fetal development
A few symptoms may include:
rapid heartbeat
holes in the walls of the heart
breathing difficulties
pale or blueish skin
Treatment:
Most heart defects can be corrected or improved through surgery, drugs, and devices such as pacemakers.
Cleft lip/palate:
An Anatomical Abnormality: when a baby is born with an opening at the lip.
Cleft lip appears in about 1 in 700 Caucasian babies.
Causes:
Although the exact cause may be difficult to determine, it may likely be a combination of genes and other factors during the pregnancy.
A few symptoms may include:
language development may be affected
babies may also have a hard time with feeding
Treatment:
Surgical repair
Down syndrome (Trisomy 21) :
A genetic disorder (a chromosomal birth defect): caused by abnormal cell division during development resulting in the presence of a third copy of chromosome 21.
Down syndrome occurs in 1 in 800 births over all.
A few symptoms may include:
delayed physical growth
visual or hearing impairments
may be associated with heart and thyroid disease
distinct facial appearances
developmental delays
intellectual disability
Although down syndrome cannot be cured, early treatment programs can help improve skills.
Treatment programs may include:
speech therapy
physical therapy
occupational therapy
educational therapy
A few other types of birth defects may include:
Clubfoot
Cerebral palsy
Spina bifida
Sickle cell disease
Fragile X chromosome
Fetal alcohol syndrome
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