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Birth Defects - An Update
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Many people think of birth defects as things that happen to other people.
They don't. Birth defects can - and do - happen to anyone, regardless of
age, sex, race, economic status or education. There are some 3,000 to
5,000 birth defects. They are leading cause of infant death and a major
cause of disability in young people, affecting more than 150,000 babies
each year.
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The good news this year is that the rate of infant deaths due to birth defects
has been cut in half since 1960. More and more babies' lives are being saved
because of:
- Advanced technologies such as specialized nurseries, called neonatal
intensive care units or NICU's.
- Better management of maternal medical conditions, such as diabetes,
existing before and during pregnancy.
- Increased focus on good nutrition and behavioral factors, such as avoiding smoking.
- Widespread immunization against infections, such as rubella, that can harm an unborn baby.
- New treatments such as fetal surgery.
However, despite ongoing research, the causes of about 60 percent of birth defects are unknown. Compounding the problem, up to now, has been the
absence of a national problem to track the incidence of birth defects around
the country and study causes and preventions. Now, however, newly enacted
federal legislation called the Birth Defects Prevention Act has assured
funding for one of the largest birth defects surveillance and research
studies ever conducted.
In the early 1990s, it was discovered that, by taking the B vitamin folic acid daily, women can reduce the risk of having a child with birth defects
of the brain and spinal cord called neural tube defects (NTDs). This
opportunity to prevent birth defects on such sure that the good news about
folic acid is still being spread across the country.
If your baby, or a baby in your family, is born with a birth defect, you'll want to get as much information as possible
about it and about treatment of it. Your health care provider should be
able to answer your questions and advise you about the best course of
action. Connecting with other families in similar situations is also helpful since raising a child with a birth defect can pose special challenges.
Our March of Dimes chapter can assist you by providing you with information about specific birth defects and helping
you find other resources as well as appropriate support groups. Call
your nearest March of Dimes office at 800-431-WALK; or the National March
of Dimes Resource Center at 888-MODIMES; or on the internet: resourcecenter@modimes.org.
Footnote: Above information was adapted from the March of Dimes web page on
the internet: Birth Defects Information.
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