What Do You Know About Birth Defects?
See how much you know about birth defects. Learn what you can do to lower your risk.
1. How many babies in the U.S. are born with birth defects?
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According to the March of Dimes, about 1 in 33 babies born each year in the U.S. has
a birth defect.
2. When is an unborn baby most at risk of developing a birth defect?
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That's why experts advise that people planning to become pregnant visit their healthcare
provider first. This is especially important for people with chronic health conditions.
3. Which of these is a common birth defect?
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Cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects of the mouth and lip. Cleft lip with
or without cleft palate happens in about 1 in 1,000 births. These problems occur early
in pregnancy. The sides of the lip and the roof of the mouth don’t join together as
they should. A child can have cleft lip, cleft palate, or both. Most babies born with
a cleft are otherwise healthy, with no other birth problems. Down syndrome is a genetic
disorder that includes a combination of birth defects. These include intellectual
problems and certain facial features. Often they also include heart defects, visual
and hearing problems, and other health problems. These problems vary greatly in how
severe they are. According to the CDC, Down syndrome affects about 1 in 700 babies.
4. Which of these habits of the pregnant person can be harmful to the fetus?
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Smoking raises the risk for miscarriage or damage to developing fetal organs. Alcohol
and illegal drugs can raise the risk for fetal problems, miscarriage, and lifetime
disabilities.
5. A person who is pregnant or considering pregnancy should get a health checkup.
Which of these vaccines should be up to date before they get pregnant because of the
danger of the disease to the fetus?
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If a person is not immune to rubella, infection during pregnancy can cause a group
of birth defects called the congenital rubella syndrome. Defects include decreased
growth, intellectual problems, small head, congenital cataracts or cloudiness of the
cornea, deafness, and heart defects.
6. Healthcare providers advise people to take 400 mcg of folic acid daily before they
get pregnant and during pregnancy. What can this help prevent in the baby?
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Taking folic acid supplements may lower the risk for a group of conditions called
neural tube defects by 50%.
7. Pregnant people should not handle cat litter to lower the risk of becoming infected
with which of these?
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This infection can be passed to humans through cat feces. It can seriously harm an
unborn baby. Infection during pregnancy can cause premature delivery, low birth weight,
intellectual problems, muscle movement problems, small head, small eyes and blindness,
seizures, hydrocephalus, and damage to the liver and blood-forming organs.
8. Which of these kinds of medicines can cause birth defects if taken when pregnant?
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Many prescription and over-the-counter medicines aren't safe for pregnant people to
take. A pregnant person should check with their healthcare provider before taking
any medicine or supplement.
9. During prenatal care, a healthcare provider may advise genetic screening tests
for certain disorders. What is one thing that amniocentesis tests for?
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Amniocentesis often is done between the 15th and 20th week of pregnancy. Down syndrome
is one of the most common genetic chromosome problems tested for. The number of conditions
that can be diagnosed by amniocentesis increases every year. Amniocentesis can be
used to diagnose many chromosome problems, DNA-gene problems, and enzyme and amino
acid problems. In late pregnancy, amniocentesis can even help find out how mature
the fetus' lungs are.
10. Extra or missing chromosomes trigger genetic birth defects. What factor greatly
increases the risk for an abnormal number of chromosomes in the fetus?
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Pregnant people 35 and older have a greater risk of having a child with chromosome
problems. This is especially true for trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome.
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Medical Reviewers:
- Adler, Liora C, MD
- Brennan, Dan, MD
- Wojcik, Stacey, MBA, BSN