Birth Defects

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Birth Defects

• Could it happen to Me? How do I make choices to
  avoid preventable birth defects?

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Definition An abnormally formed organ or body
part. 4-6 of children under 5 are diagnosed.
33 out of every 1,000 babies born have one.
Leading cause of prenatal and infant mortality in
the US
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Causes

• Genetic
• Chromosome
• Teratogenic
• must cross placenta and reach fetus
• Dosage and duration of exposure must be enough to
  cause harm.
• Must occur during organ formation
• Multifactorial genetic and environmental
• Other despite normal development.

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Developmental Periods of Pregnancy

• Preimplantation
• Embryonic or Germinal
• Fetal

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Preimplantation (period of the ovum)

• Ovulation and fertilization
• First 2 weeks
• Early miscarriage if something is wrong
• all or nothing

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Embryonic Period

• Week 3 to week 8
• First trimester
• Most major birth defects occur here
• By day 50

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Fetal Period

• Third month until birth
• 2nd 3rd trimester
• Tissue, organ, and rapid body growth
• CNS still developing-teratogens

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Impact of Birth Defects

• Medical
• Emotional
• Family
• Financial/economic A child born with spina
  bifida incurs a lifetime cost of 8.2 million
  dollars (1992)

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Birth Defects
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Terms

• Anomaly abnormality
• Congenital existing at birth
• Perinatal relating to the period shortly before
  and after birth
• Prenatal before birth
• Teratogen chemical agent or factor in the
  environment such as drugs, pollutants, or
  infections which harms the embryo or fetus.