Birth Defects

Millions of children worldwide are born with birth defects. If you are a pregnant woman you should be aware of some birth defects so that you could prevent your child from birth defects.

There are two types of birth defects viz. Structural Birth Defect and Functional Birth Defect. If a child is born with structural birth defects, he/she will suffer from physical disabilities such as cleft lip or cleft palate and abnormal limbs. Some children also face heart defects. Neural tube defects such as spina bifida are also common among children with birth defects.

In functional birth defects, disabilities occur in the brain and the affected child may face learning disabilities, problems in speech, difficulty in movement and can also be mentally retarded. Children with birth defects may also develop Autism, Fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome.

A child with birth defects may suffer from blindness, cataracts or deafness too. Metabolic defects such as PKU (phenylketonuria) and hypothyroidism may also develop in them.

Different types of defects may have different impact on children. Some researches reveal that there are nearly one thousand types of birth defects. In some cases, children affected with birth defects behave abnormally and like mentally retarded children and in some cases they may die too because some birth defects could be very critical! Birth defects are among the major causes of infants’ death.

There are many reasons for birth defects. One of the major causes is the genetic disorders. In this case, one or more genes do not function in proper way. If chromosomes are more or less than required, it leads to birth defects.

If any pregnant woman is exposed to polluted environment or harmful factors such rubella or German measles during her pregnancy, then her child is likely to be born with birth defects. Women who drink too much alcohol during pregnancy or consume harmful drugs are also at high risk of delivering babies with birth defects.

Couples who indulge in anal sex or oral sex (and if one of the partners is infected) the other partner may get sexually transmitted disease known as Chlamydia. Chlamydia is a dangerous disease for the fetus and it damages the brain of the child. Women who suffer from Chlamydia generally give birth to children with birth defects.

Your doctor may suggest you proper treatments for your child with birth defects.