Birth Defect Research Paper
Defects
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 throughprenatal screening that your baby might be born with a birth defect.
Many parents assume that all birth defects are severe or even fatal, but the fact is that many are treatable, often immediately after birth — and sometimes even before the baby is born.
It's especially important to know the risk factors involved and how to prevent birth defects. However, it's also important to realize that most babies born with congenital defects are born to two healthy parents.
About Birth Defects
Birth defects are defined as abnormalities of structure, …show more content…
Infections that can cause birth defects include rubella (German measles),cytomegalovirus (CMV), syphilis, toxoplasmosis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, parvovirus, and, rarely, chickenpox. None of these affect 100% of babies whose mothers are infected during pregnancy. If the mother is infected during early pregnancy, rubella carries the highest risk for birth defects (approximately 20%). Because of nearly universal immunization in the United States, rubella is very, very rare and the congenital rubella syndrome is almost never seen. CMV is probably the most common congenital infection and may be associated with intellectual disability (mental retardation) and hearing …show more content…
Although the exact causes of most multifactorial disorders are poorly understood, doctors can often identify common trends among similar conditions. Folate deficiency, for example, appears to play a role in various malformations of the neural tube, but the cumulative causes of such malformations and their relative contribution are rather complex. Neural tube defects have also been linked to trisomy 18, numerous mutations in the genes necessary for the development of the nervous system, and exposure to certain epilepsy drugs. Of the different forms of neural tube defects, a condition known as anencephaly is arguably the most severe. Anencephalic babies lack most of their brain and are often stillborn or die soon after birth. Spina bifida is a (relatively) less severe defect of the neural tube characterized by a series of deformities that are associated with incomplete enclosure of the spinal cord by the twenty-eighth day of development. The exposed spinal cord and the surrounding tissues are usually sealed surgically soon after birth, but the neurological effects, including partial paralysis and loss of bladder control, often last a
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 throughprenatal screening that your baby might be born with a birth defect.
Many parents assume that all birth defects are severe or even fatal, but the fact is that many are treatable, often immediately after birth — and sometimes even before the baby is born.
It's especially important to know the risk factors involved and how to prevent birth defects. However, it's also important to realize that most babies born with congenital defects are born to two healthy parents.
About Birth Defects
Birth defects are defined as abnormalities of structure, …show more content…
Infections that can cause birth defects include rubella (German measles),cytomegalovirus (CMV), syphilis, toxoplasmosis, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, parvovirus, and, rarely, chickenpox. None of these affect 100% of babies whose mothers are infected during pregnancy. If the mother is infected during early pregnancy, rubella carries the highest risk for birth defects (approximately 20%). Because of nearly universal immunization in the United States, rubella is very, very rare and the congenital rubella syndrome is almost never seen. CMV is probably the most common congenital infection and may be associated with intellectual disability (mental retardation) and hearing …show more content…
Although the exact causes of most multifactorial disorders are poorly understood, doctors can often identify common trends among similar conditions. Folate deficiency, for example, appears to play a role in various malformations of the neural tube, but the cumulative causes of such malformations and their relative contribution are rather complex. Neural tube defects have also been linked to trisomy 18, numerous mutations in the genes necessary for the development of the nervous system, and exposure to certain epilepsy drugs. Of the different forms of neural tube defects, a condition known as anencephaly is arguably the most severe. Anencephalic babies lack most of their brain and are often stillborn or die soon after birth. Spina bifida is a (relatively) less severe defect of the neural tube characterized by a series of deformities that are associated with incomplete enclosure of the spinal cord by the twenty-eighth day of development. The exposed spinal cord and the surrounding tissues are usually sealed surgically soon after birth, but the neurological effects, including partial paralysis and loss of bladder control, often last a